Verari Systems, the server and storage device maker that laid off the bulk of its work force in December 2009 while trying to figure out its future, apparently is shutting down.
Posted on Verari’s Website is a notice from a company that specializes in helping insolvent businesses, announcing an auction of Verari’s assets.
On the notice, CMA (Credit Management Association) says it has been designated the assignee for creditors. The deadline for bids is given as Jan. 7 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. The notice reads:
““CMA is soliciting competing offers for a premier developer of energy-efficient data center and desktop consolidation platforms utilizing blade-based compute and storage solutions. All assets will be sold by CMA as Assignee for the Benefit of Creditors.”“
Executives at Verari could not be reached for comment.
The company, which makes BladeRack servers and DataServer storage products designed to help businesses reduce their data center energy and operating costs, has been around since 1996, when it was called RackSaver. It changed its name to Verari Systems in 2004.
Verari also sells DataValet, an integrated hardware and software storage solution, and the Forest Container containerized data center.
Rumors of possible financial problems began circulating when Verari didn’t appear at the Supercomputing show in November 2009. In mid-December, Verari laid off most of its employees, though some executives remained at its San Diego, Calif., headquarters to deal with the backlog of orders and determine the future of the company.
In an interview at the time, CEO David Wright said the company was restructuring, though he was unsure what path it would take. Wright did not say exactly how many employees were laid off, but there had been about 225 workers at the company.
Soon after news of Verari’s situation became public, rival SGI said it would support Verari customers through its own services unit.
Ex-Verari employees have created several online networking sites. One such is VerariAlumni.com. More than 160 employees have signed up on the networking site, and there are several messages posted from other businesses looking for sales and marketing professionals. There also is a Twitter site run by a former Verari employee calling himself VerariGuy, where ex-workers can network.
Another networking site for former employees can be found here.