"Any of the new networking companies coming to market are positioning their business to be API-driven," the solution provider told CRN. The steady stream of acquisitions in the networking industry come as legacy vendors consolidate in the face of new technologies such as software-defined networking, said one solution provider close to Brocade and Cisco, who preferred to remain anonymous. Brocade's IP networking business includes Ruckus Wireless, which Brocade acquired in early 2016. Broadcom, at the time, said it would retain Brocade's Fibre Channel SAN switching business and divest Brocade's IP networking business. In November, semiconductor maker Broadcom, Irvine, Calif., said it would acquire networking systems supplier Brocade Communications Systems in a blockbuster $5.9 billion deal.
In October, Extreme completed the acquisition of Zebra Technology's wireless LAN business for $55 million, creating one of the top three WLAN enterprise campus providers in the world. The San Jose, Calif.-based company in early March said it plans to pay $100 million to acquire Avaya's networking business just months after Avaya said it was seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The deal, under which Extreme Networks would gain Brocade's data center switching, routing, and analytics business once Broadcom finishes its acquisition of Brocade, is valued at $55 million, which includes $35 million in cash on close of the deal and $20 million in deferred payments over a five-year period.įor Extreme, it is the second big acquisition to be unveiled this month. "With Brocade, we get yet another area where we compete against Cisco."
When we win a deal, it's taking a refresh deal from Cisco, or winning a new deployment against Cisco," said Norman Rice, Extreme Networks' executive vice president of global marketing, supply chain, and corporate development. The move, combined with several other recent acquisitions by Extreme Networks, will help make the company a more formidable competitor to networking giant Cisco Systems. Extreme Networks on Wednesday said it has agreed to purchase Brocade Communications Systems' data center networking business from Broadcom.