Western Digital coughs up $645 million and acquires PCIe-based flash array developer Virident Systems as part of an effort to boost the enterprise flash capabilities of subsidiary HGST. 

Virident products include the FlashMAX II low-profile storage PCIe card, the FlashMAX Connect software suite and the vFAS operating system. 

"We have established a competitive position in the enterprise SSD space and with our recently announced acquisitions we are increasing our commitment to become an even more significant player in this high growth segment,” WD says. “Virident has a proven leadership team and a culture of innovation. Its combination of great people, leading products and advanced technology will enhance our increasingly strategic position in enterprise storage."

Following acquisition Virident will be integrated into HGST, with CEO Mike Gustafson joining HGST as senior VP reporting to president Mike Cordano. 

The WD purse strings appear fairly open when it comes to buying flash-- on June 2013 it acquired enterprise SSD maker sTec for $340m before buying flash cache software developer VeloBit on July 2013. It also invested in flash array startup Skyera on March 2013. 

Go WD Expands Enterprise Flash Storage Portfolio with Acquisition of Virident