EMERYVILLE, Calif. – February 25, 2010 – Aspera, Inc., creators of next-generation software technologies that move the world’s digital assets at maximum speed regardless of file size, transfer distance or network conditions, announced today that the European Patent Office (EPO) has awarded the company a patent for its bulk data transfer protocol called fasp™. The patent covers Aspera’s core technology for high-performance transport of large files and data sets over wide area networks as a superior alternative to FTP, HTTP and traditional NAS protocols. The thirty-one member countries of the European Patent Organization have granted this patent.

Aspera has made breakthrough advancements in high-speed file transport technology that achieves typical transfer speeds 100 times faster than alternative methods. Aspera software overcomes the bottlenecks faced in applications such as file transfer, data replication and rich media visualization when transferring large, bulk data over wide area networks. Over networks with high round-trip time and packet loss, these applications suffer from extremely slow and unpredictable performance due to the design gap of TCP-based protocols, even with modern acceleration technologies.

“We are honored to receive this patent for our work on a general-purpose software technology that enables high-speed, bandwidth-efficient transport of bulk data over global IP networks,” said Michelle Munson, president and co-founder of Aspera. “Aspera is committed to the ongoing innovation of fasp to ensure its universal applicability as the need for wide area data movement over all types and capacities of IP networks continue to grow.”

The new patent solidifies Aspera’s position as a leader in data transport technologies, and ensures that its innovative method for managing and transferring its clients’ most valuable assets remains the intellectual property of Aspera: 

EPO Patent #EP 1867110—Bulk data transport protocol that yields high bulk data transfer speeds over commodity networks (of any bandwidth, delay, and loss rate) with sufficient transmission efficiency to allow for independent transfer rate control. As a result, the system provides applications exhaustive, configurable, real-time control of transfer rates over the universal commodity network while remaining stable and predictable.

The fasp Difference—Fast and Secure Protocol

Aspera’s fasp transport technology is an emerging standard for the high-speed movement of large files over wide area networks (WANs) that eliminates the fundamental bottlenecks of conventional file transfer technologies such as FTP, HTTP, and Windows CIFS, and dramatically speeds transfers over public and private IP networks. Hollywood studios, major broadcasters, sports leagues, government entities and corporations use Aspera software for business critical transport of their digital assets on a daily basis—some of them moving in excess of one terabyte per day over their WAN infrastructure.

Aspera’s innovative core technology delivers unprecedented control over bandwidth, complete security and uncompromising reliability. Its flexible, open architecture provides multiple deployment options, including purpose-built software applications, easy integration with internal systems and direct compatibility with numerous solutions from industry-leading technology partners.