VMware have announced in a blog post (Leading our Industry into a Software-Defined Future with Strategic M&A) that they are acquiring VeloCloud. They have also issued the obligatory press-release to support this.
They follow Cisco’s acquisition of Viptela (Viptela plans for acquisition by Cisco) in integrating SD-WAN as a feature into networks rather than a separate thing. VMware is expecting to use VeloCloud to join with their VMware NSX environments; providing a cohesive network covering software-defined data centres and a software-defined WAN to link sites together.
I imagine that the first integration we will see will be a plugin for the NSX modules in vCentre, supporting the VeloCloud network directly, followed by closer integration over time. The second phase may be the integration of the VeloCloud endpoint into things like the VMware NSX Edge Services appliance.
However, too much integration, such as mandating both NSX and VeloCloud in the same environment would be a bad thing. VMware has seemed to be able to avoid this sort of linkage in the past.
Since VeloCloud uses a central cloud provisioning model, it also fits with VMware’s overall cloud strategy. It’s interesting to see that the comment below, as it looks like VMware will focus on NFV and telco deployments, where VeloCloud has had great success.
“VMware and VeloCloud will bring the same properties to the WAN with a comprehensive SD-WAN solution that provides full visibility, metrics, control and automation of all endpoints, resulting in better performance and availability for enterprise and cloud applications.” – Shekar Ayyar, EVP, Strategy and Corporate Development & GM Telco NFV Group, VMware
There is even a quote provided by Dell/EMC in the press-release, but it’s hardly surprising that they endorse the merger. Especially since they have already partnered with VeloCloud and still own a sizeable chunk of VMware.
VeloCloud has many telco customers (some reported previously, such as AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, GTT, Sprint and Telstra), as well as many enterprise customers, including NCR.
“Enterprises are transforming how they architect and utilize their infrastructure, with a shift towards a cloud-delivered, software-defined model. This enables organizations to have a globally consistent infrastructure regardless of where it is deployed — from the data center and the cloud to the edge. We look forward to helping VMware, the leader in software-defined infrastructure, in the next evolution of the company’s networking and NFV strategies.”- Sanjay Uppal, CEO, VeloCloud Networks.
“In the digital era, a new networking approach is required to solve the hyper distribution of applications and data, as we move from a model of data centers to one of centers of data at the edge. At the heart of VMware’s networking strategy is the belief in delivering pervasive connectivity with embedded security that connects users to applications wherever they may be. With the addition of VeloCloud’s industry-leading SD-WAN technology, we will be able to extend the VMware NSX approach of automated, secure, and infrastructure-independent networking to the WAN.” – Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware.
Oh, and there’s also synergy in lowercase company logos beginning with ‘v’, and the first group of letters in bold! Let’s see what happens to VeloCloud over the next few months, as integration is never easy.