Riverbed Technology is set to acquire Xirrus, a provider of Wi-Fi networks, in order to expand SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network) and cloud networking solution Riverbed SteelConnect globally.
Riverbed Technology did not reveal financial details of the acquisition of Thousand Oaks, California-based Xirrus. Xirrus customers include Microsoft, University of Mississippi, Liverpool Football Club and Paul Hastings Law Firm.
By adding Xirrus, the power of policy-based orchestration by SteelConnect will be further extended to the wireless edge.
“Together with Riverbed, we embrace a tremendous opportunity to create the world’s first SD-WAN solution that covers the core to the edge of the network,” said Shane Buckley, CEO of Xirrus.
Riverbed Technology will integrate Xirrus Wi-Fi networks solutions offering the power of unified connectivity and policy-based orchestration. Riverbed will also continue to offer Xirrus as a stand-alone enterprise WLAN solution.
“Xirrus is a strategic acquisition for Riverbed, providing us with a leading enterprise-grade Wi-Fi solution, and enhancing SteelConnect to deliver an unmatched SD-WAN offering that will help further fuel our growth in this hot market,” said Jerry M Kennelly, chairman and chief executive officer of Riverbed.
“A key facet of network transformation is convergence at the enterprise branch as IT/network managers look to unify network operations and management across wired and wireless LANs and WANs, all within the context of a cloud-enabled architecture,” said Rohit Mehra, vice president, Network Infrastructure, IDC.
“With this acquisition, Riverbed is well positioned to address this shift, adding an enterprise-grade WLAN solution to a broader enterprise branch offering with SD-WAN that also integrates industry-leading WAN optimization and visibility,” Rohit Mehra said.
In January 2016, Riverbed acquired Ocedo Networks, a SD-WAN provider to accelerate the delivery of Riverbed’s networking solutions, and launched SteelConnect as an early access offering in April 2016.
In September 2016, Riverbed announced availability of SteelConnect 2.0 with many new features, including integrated visibility with Riverbed SteelCentral.
In March 2017, Orange Business Services said it will leverage SteelConnect to deliver a managed SD-WAN service.
