VMware makes fifth M&A grab of the year in SaltStack acquisition

Latest addition now 'completes our automation story', says virtualisation vendor

VMware has announced its intent to buy Utah-based automation firm SaltStack in a move the virtualisation giant claims "completes our automation story".

Saltstack's configuration management and security automation capabilities extend into the software and packages inside virtual machines and containers.

The acquisition is VMware's fifth M&A deal of the year despite its financials being hit and downgraded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

VMware was expecting to log $12.05bn in revenues in its fiscal 2021.

VMware's other 2020 buys include security service provider Lastline, cloud-native apps security firm Octarine, IT analytics software outfit Nyansa and disaster recovery as-a-service offering Datrium.

In a blog post, VMware SVP cloud management business unit Ajay Singh said that SaltStack will help bolster VMware's entire offering.

"SaltStack will help us to extend our automation capabilities beyond infrastructure to the entire application stack," he said.

"These software configuration management capabilities will help us address the full spectrum of customers' automation needs and further strengthen customers' ability to automate the deployment and configuration of infrastructure platforms both on-premises and in the cloud with VMware vRealize Automation."

SaltStack's security portfolio will also be integrated into VMware's vRealize suite, including SaltStack Protect, an automated IT security vulnerability discovery and remediation tool, and SaltStack Comply, a compliance policy-as-code tool.

"SaltStack offers robust configuration compliance and vulnerability management capabilities, which will enable VMware vRealize to help customers address their SecOps practices," Singh added.

The deal is expected to close in October.