Cisco Beefing Up Software Portfolio With Acquisition Of Embrane

Cisco Systems on Wednesday said it plans to acquire the application-centric networking solutions company Embrane in a push to simplify application deployment and build the cloud for the data center.

"As we continue to drive virtualization and automation, the unique skillset and talent of the Embrane team will allow us to move more quickly to meet customer demands," Hilton Romanski, senior vice president of business development at Cisco, said in a blog post on Wednesday. "[Embrane] will help to expand our strategy of offering freedom of choice to our customers through the Nexus product portfolio and enhance the capabilities of Application Centric Infrastructure."

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Embrane will join Cisco's Insieme software-defined network business unit, with the purchase expected to be completed before the end of the current quarter, according to Romanski.

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The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company offers a life-cycle management platform for application-centric networks and will help partners by offering network services automation, cloud and system management orchestration, and automation stacks, according to Romanski.

"I'm glad to see Cisco adding to their software portfolio," said David Powell, vice president of managed and cloud services at Cisco partner TekLinks. "Through the acquisition of Metacloud and rumors of other acquisitions, Cisco is building a robust software portfolio around converged hyperscale and [software-defined networking]."

Last summer, Cisco acquired Metacloud, a provider of OpenStack-based private clouds; Assemblage, a cloud-based collaboration application supplier; and Tail-f Systems, a provider of network service orchestration solutions.

Powell said having the software tools to enable the market shift toward "infrastructure as code" is important for TekLinks and Cisco's channel in order to stay ahead of the curve.

"As hybrid solutions become more prevalent, blurring the lines between what is private and what is public, the ability to administer all the applications and their underlying architecture becomes very important," said Powell. "We see that there will be a need, still emerging, for deploying services across multiple clouds and data centers."

Dante Malagrino, co-founder and chief product officer at Embrane, said in a blog post that the acquisition will take the company to the "next phase in our journey."

"Joining Cisco gives us the opportunity to ... participate in one of the most significant shifts in the history of networking, leading the industry to better serve application needs through integrated software-hardware models," said Malagrino. "The networking DNA of Cisco and Embrane together drives our common vision for an Application Centric Infrastructure."

Romanski said Cisco is continuing its commitment to open standards through programmable application program interfaces (APIs) and multivendor environments.

PUBLISHED APRIL 1, 2015