According to foreign media reports, IBM announced the other day that it would acquire Arsenal Digital Solutions, an online storage service provider in the US, to launch a challenge to its rivals such as EMC. Arsenal Digital Solutions, headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, is a supplier of online storage and data protection solutions, employing 100 employees and having 3400 customers. It is expected that the deal will be completed in the first season of the next year, while the detailed amount of the transaction has not been disclosed. At that time, Arsenal Digital Solutions will become a part of IBM's Global Technology Services Division.