Cisco, Tuesday announced its intent to acquire Viptela, a privately held software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) company based in San Jose, for $610 million in cash. Viptela will expand Cisco's SD-WAN portfolio with increased functionality and simplicity delivered through the cloud.
Viptela provides a compelling SD-WAN solution that simplifies management, increases agility and reduces costs of interconnecting dispersed enterprise networks. Its network management, orchestration and overlay technologies make it easy to deploy and manage SD-WAN. This cloud-first approach also aligns with Cisco's Digital Network Architecture (DNA) transition to software-driven, automated networks that are more flexible, responsive and dynamic.
With this announcement, Cisco will be able to accelerate the path to developing next generation SD-WAN solutions, by combining Viptela's cloud first network management, orchestration and overlay technologies with industry-leading routing platforms, services, and SD-WAN capabilities from Cisco.
Cisco said it is committed to Viptela's product offering and architecture as well as existing Cisco Intelligent WAN (IWAN) and Meraki SD-WAN solutions. The acquisition of Viptela also supports Cisco's strategic transition toward software-centric solutions that deliver predictable, recurring revenue.
The Viptela team will join the Enterprise Routing team within the Networking and Security Business led by senior vice president David Goeckeler. After the acquisition closes, Viptela and Cisco engineering teams will be working closely together to enhance Cisco's SD-WAN offering and ensure continued support for our customers.
Scott Harrell, SVP of Product Management, Cisco Enterprise Networking Group
Viptela's technology is cloud-first, with a focus on simplicity and ease of deployment while simultaneously providing a rich set of capabilities and scale. These principles are what today's customers demand. With Viptela and Cisco, we will be able to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of comprehensive on-premises, hybrid, and cloud-based SD-WAN solutions.
