Cisco snaps up SD-Wan startup Viptela in $610m deal

Cisco is acquiring SD-WAN startup Viptela for $610 million, in a deal designed to bolster its SD-WAN portfolio.

Cisco says Viptela's SD-WAN solution 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," Cisco says, noting that the cloud-first approach aligns with Cisco's digital network architecture transition to software-driven, automated networks.

Cisco says it will combine Viptela's cloud first network management, orchestration and overlay technologies with its own routing platforms, services and SD-WAN capabilities.

Scott Harrell, Cisco enterprise networking group senior vice president of product management, says the acquisition will enable Cisco to deliver a portfolio of comprehensive on-premises, hybrid and cloud-based SD-WAN solutions.

"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," Harrell says.

"These principles are what today's customers demand.

Cisco says it is committed to Viptela's product offering and architecture and also to the existing Cisco Intelligent WAN and Meraki SD-WAN offerings.

The acquisition is the latest in a string of purchases for Cisco, which acquired AppDynamics earlier this year for US$3.7 billion, and Jasper Technologies last year, for $1.4 billion, back to Meraki in 2012, as the company focuses on transitioning to software-centric solutions – with predictable, recurring revenue – to counter flat networking equipment sales.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year, with Viptela's team joining Cisco's enterprise routing group within the networking and security business.