Aspera
Aspera (IBM Aspera) provides high-speed file transfer software built on patented FASP protocol, serving enterprise customers in media, healthcare, and manufacturing with subscription-based multi-cloud data movement.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersEmeryville, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Aspera does
Aspera, founded in 2004 and headquartered in Emeryville, California, develops software for high-speed data movement across distance, latency, packet loss, and hybrid infrastructure. Its core technology is the patented FASP (Fast, Adaptive, and Secure Protocol), which the company claims delivers transfers 100x faster than traditional FTP/SFTP and is the foundation of every product in its portfolio. The company was acquired by IBM Corporation in 2014 and now operates as the IBM Aspera product line within IBM (NYSE: IBM).
The IBM Aspera portfolio consists of four subscription-licensed products: Aspera Enterprise (the flagship high-availability solution for integration, collaboration, data delivery, synchronization, automation, and workflows); Aspera Lite (a scaled-down tier for smaller organizations and business units); Aspera Endpoint (additional on-premises nodes and API-driven P2P integrations for existing deployments); and Aspera faspio Gateway (bidirectional streaming for database replication and migrations that bypasses TCP limitations). Go-to-market combines IBM's global enterprise field sales, IBM.com self-serve with free trial, AWS Marketplace listing, and a partner network. Pricing is quote-based with annual subscription billing; a 30% first-year discount was active on Essential and Standard Plus tiers as of the latest inputs.
Aspera serves customers primarily in Media and Entertainment (FILMFEST MÜNCHEN, FOX Sports, base on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, DMC), Healthcare (HIPAA-compliant transfer of patient data), and Manufacturing (machine performance and quality data), with the primary segment being large enterprises requiring high-volume, time-sensitive data movement. The company holds HIPAA compliance certification, has registered/granted patent status on the FASP protocol, and integrates natively with AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. No standalone revenue or headcount figures are disclosed; Aspera revenue is reported within IBM's consolidated financials.
Aspera firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Aspera
- Legal name
- IBM Aspera (product line of IBM Corporation)
- Website
- https://asperasoft.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Aspera (IBM Aspera) provides high-speed file transfer software built on patented FASP protocol, serving enterprise customers in media, healthcare, and manufacturing with subscription-based multi-cloud data movement.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Aspera industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Enterprise File Transfer Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Migration & Replication Tools (HDABAEAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- File Storage, Sync & Sharing (BPAMAMAE), Connector/Adapter Frameworks & Integration Runtimes (HDAEACAJ)
Keywords
Where Aspera is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Emeryville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Aspera business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription Licensing: IBM Aspera operates on a subscription-based model with tiered plans (Enterprise, Lite, Endpoint, faspio Gateway) that scale with team size, environments, and workloads. Flexible pricing adapts across organizations with transparent, predictable cost control.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | IBM Aspera Enterprise - Most complete high-speed transfer solution for integration, collaboration, data delivery, synchronization, automation and workflows |
| Subscription | Annual | IBM Aspera Lite - Optimal transfer solution for smaller organizations and business units with storage on prem |
| Subscription | Annual | IBM Aspera Endpoint - Build out and scale existing IBM Aspera solutions with extra on-premises nodes or configure in P2P solutions |
| Subscription | Annual | IBM Aspera faspio Gateway - Bidirectional streaming solution for database replication and migrations |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Aspera product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Aspera develops high-speed file transfer software powered by its patented FASP (Fast, Adaptive, and Secure Protocol) technology. The platform moves large datasets across distance, latency, packet loss, scale and hybrid infrastructure, delivering transfers up to 100x faster than traditional FTP/SFTP. It is offered as a tiered product suite (Enterprise, Lite, Endpoint, faspio Gateway) for on-premises and multi-cloud data movement, synchronization, automation, and streaming workloads.
Product overview
IBM Aspera is a high-speed file transfer platform built on patented FASP technology. The portfolio consists of four products: IBM Aspera Enterprise (the flagship enterprise-tier solution for full integration, collaboration, data delivery, synchronization, automation and workflows); IBM Aspera Lite (a smaller-scale solution for SMBs and business units); IBM Aspera Endpoint (for extending existing deployments with additional on-premises nodes via API-driven integrations); and IBM Aspera faspio Gateway (a streaming module for database replication and migrations). Aspera targets high-volume, high-speed data transfer needs with its patented FASP technology, differentiating from traditional FTP/SFTP solutions by delivering transfers 100x faster across any distance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- IBM Aspera Enterprise: The most complete high-speed transfer solution for integration, collaboration, data delivery, synchronization, automation and workflows. Deploy on premises or on Cloud Object Storage and scale to HA solutions.
- IBM Aspera Lite
- IBM Aspera Endpoint
- IBM Aspera faspio Gateway
Quantifiable outcome
- 150 films transferred digitally with 0 cancellations for FILMFEST MUNICH
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Aspera
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Aspera technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature8 records
Aspera partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- AWScoreIBM Aspera integrates with AWS and is available for purchase through AWS Marketplace. Customers can move files directly to and from AWS cloud storage using Aspera's high-speed FASP protocol.
- Microsoft AzurecoreIBM Aspera integrates with Microsoft Azure cloud platforms, enabling customers to move files directly to and from Azure storage through the FASP protocol.
- Google CloudcoreIBM Aspera integrates with Google Cloud, enabling direct file movement to and from Google Cloud storage using Aspera's high-speed transfer technology.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Aspera competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Signiant: Signiant (Media Shuttle, Jet) provides intelligent file transfer focused on media & entertainment workflows. Direct peer to Aspera with overlapping enterprise M&E use cases and SaaS delivery model.
- FileCatalyst (Unlimi-Tech): FileCatalyst offers accelerated file transfer solutions leveraging a UDP-based protocol similar in concept to FASP. Direct peer competing on speed and reliability for large file movement.
- Azure Data Factory: Microsoft's hybrid data integration and ETL service for moving and transforming data across on-premises and Azure. Comparable to Aspera's Enterprise and faspio Gateway offerings for Azure-centric workloads.
- AWS DataSync: AWS-native online data transfer and replication service. Competes with Aspera Enterprise and faspio Gateway inside AWS accounts where native procurement and per-GB pricing create strong defaults.
- Google Transfer Appliance: Google's bulk data ingestion device and cloud-transfer services for moving large datasets into GCP. Competes with Aspera for massive dataset movement, particularly from on-prem to cloud.
- AWS Snowball / Snowmobile: AWS physical data transport devices for petabyte-scale transfers where network-based transfer is too slow. Competes with Aspera in bulk data migration where offline transport is preferred.
Emerging players
- Datadobi: Vendor focused on unstructured data mobility and migration across storage platforms. Comparable to faspio Gateway for enterprise data migration and replication scenarios.
Regional players
- Cirion Technologies (formerly Lumen LATAM): Regional data center and managed transfer services provider focused on Latin America. Comparable in offering managed bulk data movement services where Aspera competes for the underlying transfer technology.
Broad incumbents
- IBM Spectrum (parent portfolio): Sister product line under IBM offering storage and data management software. Aspera sits within IBM's broader storage and data movement portfolio, potentially overlapping in data mobility use cases.
Others
- Rsync / open-source tooling: Open-source file synchronization tool widely used for lower-bandwidth, lower-stakes transfers. Indirect competitor Aspera positions against on speed and reliability grounds.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Aspera social profiles
Digital presenceAspera compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Aspera financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Aspera leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Aspera funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Aspera M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Aspera
What does Aspera do?
Aspera develops high-speed file transfer software powered by its patented FASP (Fast, Adaptive, and Secure Protocol) technology. The platform moves large datasets across distance, latency, packet loss, scale and hybrid infrastructure, delivering transfers up to 100x faster than traditional FTP/SFTP. It is offered as a tiered product suite (Enterprise, Lite, Endpoint, faspio Gateway) for on-premises and multi-cloud data movement, synchronization, automation, and streaming workloads.
Is Aspera a public or private company?
Aspera is a public company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Aspera founded?
Aspera was founded in 2014. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Aspera based?
Aspera is headquartered in Emeryville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Aspera make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription Licensing.
Who are Aspera's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Signiant, FileCatalyst (Unlimi-Tech), Azure Data Factory, AWS DataSync, Google Transfer Appliance and AWS Snowball / Snowmobile. Datadobi is listed as an emerging player. Cirion Technologies (formerly Lumen LATAM) is listed as a regional player. IBM Spectrum (parent portfolio) is listed as a broad incumbent. Rsync / open-source tooling is listed as an others.
Does Aspera have an API?
Yes. IBM Aspera Endpoint provides API-driven automations and integrations. The product supports API-based configuration for peer-to-peer solutions and building out scalable transfer workflows. IBM Aspera faspio Gateway enables bidirectional streaming for database replication and migrations.
What industry is Aspera in?
Aspera's product category is Enterprise File Transfer Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAEAN, Data Migration & Replication Tools, with a secondary code of BPAMAMAE, File Storage, Sync & Sharing. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.