Networking titan Cisco yesterday announced its intention to acquire data virtualisation specialists Composite Software for $180 million.
The deal comes as part of a push to enhance Cisco’s services platform by connecting data and infrastructure.
Composite Software’s technology integrated traditional and new data sources –such as cloud and big data– stored in many places on a network and consolidates it, making it appear to the user as if it is stored in one place.
The upcoming deal is part of Cisco’s unified software services strategy, building on the cloud-delivered services management integration and software of SolveDirect, which the company acquired in April.
The company hopes to combine Composite’s data virtualisation solutions with SolveDirect’s process integration platform to create a unified platform with cross-domain data and workflow capabilities. This will provide better ways to enhance data to improve economies of scale as the ecosystem grows, allowing companies to better visualise their data and get more accurate real-time insights.
“Cisco’s strategy is to create a next generation IT model that provides highly differentiated solutions to help solve our customers’ most challenging business problems,” said Gary Moore, Cisco president and chief operating officer.
“By combining our network expertise with the performance of Cisco’s Unified Computing System and Composite’s software, we will provide customers with instant access to data analysis for greater business intelligence.”
In an interview with the New York Times in May, Cisco CEO John Chambers spoke about how Cisco is moving beyond networking hardware to become an “IT company,” after laying out a plan in December to move into software and consulting services.
Chambers said he believes that big data can only be delivered effectively through a deep understanding of how networks function, meaning there is a natural opportunity for partnerships between in data analysis and traditional networking companies.
Cisco says it expects the deal with Composite Software to be closed by Q1 2014.
