Partners relieved as orphaned Ruckus finds a home

Ruckus distributor Infinigate admits that ownership limbo had caused uncertainty for partners as consumer comms outfit Arris steps in to buy it for $800m

Ruckus Wireless partners are hopeful that its acquisition by Arris will draw a line under a period of uncertainty for the orphaned wireless LAN vendor.

Arris, a NASDAQ-listed consumer comms specialist, earlier this week entered into an agreement with Broadcom to acquire Ruckus and Brocade's ICX switch business for $800m (£637m).

The deal hinges on Broadcom closing its acquisition of Brocade, which was announced in November.

Ruckus' ownership pass-the-parcel began last April when Brocade bought it for $1.5bn, before Brocade itself agreed to be snapped up by Broadcom. At the time the deal was announced, Broadcom made clear its intention was to divest Ruckus and Brocade's networking business before the deal closed.

Murray Pearce, UK managing director of Ruckus distributor Infinigate, admitted to CRN that this period of ownership musical chairs had not been helpful for the channel.

However, Pearce said he is "cautiously optimistic" at the identity of Ruckus' new owner, which intends to run Ruckus as a separate unit.

"We were obviously aware that the intention was to sell the network edge business, so the sooner that happened the better for the channel," he said.

"What people don't like is uncertainty. Now we can look at the new owner and look at their intentions and plans. The first thing to say is that the business has not gone to a company that is incompatible with our business and the channel. They have reiterated to us the importance of the channel."

"With Ruckus continuing to operate as a dedicated business unit within Arris, coupled with the retention of Dan Rabinovitsj, we are confident that the impact of the takeover will be minimal." Mark Bartley, Haptic Networks

Arris' revenues rose 60 per cent last year on the back of its acquisition of set-top box maker Pace. The Ruckus acquisition is designed to expand Arris' wired and wireless networking capabilities beyond the home into the education, public venue, enterprise, hospitality and MDU segments.

The Ruckus unit will be led by current Ruckus COO Dan Rabinovitsj, a move that has also appeased some partners, including Ruckus Alpha Dog partner Haptic Networks.

"As a well-established top-tier Ruckus partner we are pleased that some of the uncertainty regarding ongoing ownership has been resolved, and that a clear path for the future has now been outlined," said Mark Bartley, Haptic Networks' CTO.

"With Ruckus continuing to operate as a dedicated business unit within Arris, coupled with the retention of Dan Rabinovitsj, we are confident that the impact of the takeover will be minimal."

Bartley added that he was also excited at the prospect of closer integration between the Ruckus and Brocade edge-switching platforms.

Arris is known for its services prowess, but Pearce (pictured) said its direct-selling capabilities are not a major concern.

"It depends on how they organise the business and execute it," he said. "Even if they do sell via some of the other routes to market, I don't see that as different from what Ruckus was previously doing, as not all business went through the traditional distribution channel, and it didn't really cause an issue for the business in terms of growth."

IDC research from last year put Ruckus as the third-largest wireless LAN vendor globally behind only Cisco and HPE-Aruba, with 6.7 per cent market share, and Pearce claimed that Ruckus' strong reputation has limited any damage to its standing in the channel.

"It has proved quite resilient as Ruckus is a good technology, and people understood it's not something that's going to fade away," he said. "But although the confidence is there, as time goes by it gets less so, so the fact they've been acquired is really important."