SD-WAN FEATURED ARTICLE

AT&T to Buy Brocade's Vyatta Assets

June 06, 2017

By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, TMC

Yet another piece is being chipped off Brocade (News - Alert) Communications and acquired by networking company. In this case it’s the Vyatta assets. And AT&T is the buyer.




Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but assuming it goes through as planned, AT&T (News - Alert) will gain control of the Vyatta network operating system, the vRouter product line, and talent from the Vyatta part of Brocade’s business.

The deal is set to close early this summer.

The Vyatta (News - Alert) solution includes virtual network functions and a distributed services platform, patents, and patent applications. It also encompasses existing software licenses and software under development.

As noted above, the deal also provides AT&T with additional technical talent. People with expertise related to next-generation networks are at a premium these days, so this seems to be an important part of the equation. Those individuals are primarily based in California and the U.K.

The talent and technologies should help AT&T expand its SD-WAN and white box solutions for business customers. The deal will also help support AT&T’s move to virtualize and software-enable its network.

The carrier had previously announced that it plans to virtualize and software-control 55 percent of its network by the end of the year. AT&T expects to have 75 percent of its network virtualized and under software control by 2020.

AT&T’s move for Brocade’s Vyatta assets comes in the wake of PULSE SECURE LLC’s announcement June 1 that it plans to acquire the Virtual Application Delivery Controller product family from Brocade. And it follows the late March move by Extreme Networks (News - Alert) Inc. to acquire Brocade’s data center switching, routing, and analytics business from Broadcom for $55 million.

"Today's announcement, coupled with our recent announcements regarding our position as the stalking horse bidder of Avaya (News - Alert)'s networking business and the successful completion of the integration of Zebra's wireless LAN business, along with Extreme's organic investments in R&D, will result in a state-of-the-art, newly-refreshed portfolio of enterprise solutions for our customers,” said Extreme Networks President and CEO Ed Meyercord, when that deal was announced in March.



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