NetApp To Acquire Akorri Networks In Virtualization Push

The terms of the cash deal were not disclosed and it is expected to close early in NetApp's fourth fiscal quarter.

Littleton, Mass.-based Akorri provides data center management software that focuses on performance capacity analytics for virtualized, shared IT infrastructures to help users discover performance issues and boost storage capacity planning. Akorri, which is privately held, more than doubled its customer-base in 2010, the two companies said. In March of 2010, Akorri had raised more than $10 million in funding, pushing its total to more than $50 million since it was founded in 2005.

Akorri's flagship product, BalancePoint, is virtual infrastructure management software that provides analysis across virtualization layers and technology silos for virtual and physical server and storage infrastructure.

"Akorri and NetApp share a common vision of a dynamic IT infrastructure that is tightly integrated and highly efficient," Rich Corley, Akorri's founder, CTO and vice president of engineering said in a statement. "Akorri has emerged as a leader in performance management software by providing greater visibility and insight across the entire IT stack. Customers are thinking differently and choosing NetApp today as they transition to a shared IT infrastructure. The combination of our two companies will provide our customers the most comprehensive tools to plan for change and growth in their business.”

According to NetApp, the acquisition will help both companies offer tools to automate and analyze shared IT infrastructures and tackle both storage management and analytics in one fell swoop. The Akorri purchase also extends NetApp OnCommand with performance capacity analytics to give customers more visibility across the IT stack to allow users to boost their IT efficiency and flexibility through functions that help control, automate and analyze shared infrastructure.

"The ability to accurately predict and manage performance and capacity requirements has been a common obstacle for many customers wanting to transition to a virtualized environment," Manish Goel, executive vice president of product operations at NetApp said in a statement. "Akorri further strengthens NetApp's data management capabilities to achieve greater quality of service and performance in their virtual and cloud environments. With these enhanced capabilities, customers can accelerate their transition to a shared IT infrastructure so that they can use IT as a tool to capitalize on new growth opportunities and spend fewer resources managing their environments."