Deal: VMware buys cloud-based startup

We are discussing the deal of the software developer for virtualization and Avi Networks.

/ photo by Samuel Zeller Unsplash

What you need to know

In June, VMware announced the purchase of startup Avi Networks. He is developing tools for deploying applications in multi-cloud environments. It was founded in 2012 by immigrants from Cisco - former vice presidents and directors for the development of various areas of the company’s business.

The products of this startup are used by companies from different countries and various scales, including those from the Fortune 500 list - Deutsche Bank , Adobe , Telegraph Media Group , Palo Alto Networks and, in fact, VMware.

The transaction is planned to close in the second quarter of fiscal year 2020. It can be assumed that the transaction amount will exceed $ 115 million - the total investment attracted by Avi Networks. Organizations and foundations such as Cisco, Greylock Partners, and Lightspeed Venture Partners have invested in the company.

What technology do they buy

The philosophy of Avi Networks is that the principles of working with applications in private and public clouds should not be different. Companies need to be able to migrate a virtual machine from one data center to another - regardless of what solutions the underlying IT infrastructure is built on. For migration between the clouds and developed the application delivery controller (Application Delivery Controller, ADC).

The system is located on the data center network between the firewall and application servers. It balances traffic and also protects services when migrating between clouds. The developers say that preparation for the transfer is 90% faster compared to what analogues can offer.

ADC is also responsible for performance monitoring, reporting, and service discovery in the data center. Avi Networks is suitable for data centers, public clouds, container and virtual environments, as well as bare metal. RESTful APIs are used to integrate with the network infrastructure of data centers.

What is the benefit to customers

One of the goals pursued by VMware is to expand the technology stack. Therefore, a number of Avi Networks components, in particular the load balancer, are integrated into VMware NSX, a platform for virtualizing enterprise data center networks. It solves the problems of switching, routing and traffic protection. NSX forms logical segments in the data center (down to the level of individual loads) and allows you to configure your own security policies for each of them. VMware notes that the integration of Avi Networks and NSX will reduce the response time to cyber threats and help prevent them.

It is believed that integration will also simplify the process of deploying applications on VMware's Workspace ONE platform (a service for administering applications and networks). But the Avi Networks solution will also be available as a standalone ADC product for load balancing and protecting data center applications - working in the role of WAF (web application firewall).

/ photo by Joshua Rondeau Unsplash

Representatives of VMware also say that the deal will help develop the Virtual Cloud Network line, simplify management of software networks and increase the security of distributed services. Last year, the company already updated its line of solutions for multi-cloud networks and SD-WAN, so Avi Networks products will open up new opportunities for customers in the field of automated device and network management in the data center.

What else were the deals

This is not VMware’s first deal with SD-WAN and data center software. Last year, VMware acquired VeloCloud. It offers a system to protect network connections in unstable networks. Along the perimeter of segments (for example, data center) special routers are installed. They automatically balance the load and monitor connections. This approach makes the network more productive and flexible. This technology was actively discussed at the VMware EMPOWER 2019 conference. We talked about it here and here .

In the field of SD-WAN, it is worth paying attention to one more deal. Last month, Ethernet networking company Extreme Networks announced the acquisition of Aerohive, a network equipment maker, for $ 272 million. Extreme Networks hopes to expand its portfolio and attract new customers with Wi-Fi technology and software-defined networks that Aerohive is working on. The deal will close at about the same time as VMware with Avi Networks.

Experts say that all these projects (and the like) will contribute to the active development of data center technologies and the cloud sector as a whole.

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