Cisco makes new acquisition
Networking giant buys Actona Technologies
Networking giant Cisco has been on the acquisition trail again with the purchase of Actona Technologies, a developer of wide area file services software.
Cisco said the $82m buy-out will allow it to add to the functionality of its branch office access routers. The vendor also predicted Actona's technology will extend the reach of its Data Center Storage Consolidation services to the branch office.
George Kurian, vice-president of Cisco's routing technology group, said the large amount of vital information on desktops, laptops and workstations needs to be backed up and archived.
"Today's distributed branch office storage management methods are complex and expensive," Kurian said. "Providing intelligent network services so distributed enterprises can centralise file servers and storage, and better protect and cost-effectively manage remote office data, is critical."
He added that Actona's network technology will provide users in the enterprise branch office with close to LAN-speed access to centrally deployed and managed global file systems.
Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at analyst EuroLAN Research, said the acquisition will boost Cisco's SAN offering. "Cisco has not been as successful as it had hoped in the SAN space. This is because rivals sell through OEMs with partners such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard," he said.