VMware Acquires Arkin Net in Recent Deal
It may have been something of an unexpected move, but VMware's recent announcement that it plans to acquire Arkin Net makes plenty of sense at just the surface level. Thanks to this move, the cloud infrastructure and virtualization masterminds at VMware have a new set of tools to bring to the table with Arkin's software-defined data center security and operations business.
The value of the deal—or even if it was a cash, stock, or mixed deal—wasn't announced with the revelation of intent to acquire, but given that the company did announce that the deal was expected to finalize in the second quarter of 2016—which has just over two weeks left to its name—we may well be hearing more about this after the deal finalizes.
As it turns out, the duo have quite a few customers in common, covering a wide range of business classes. Nebraska Medicine is one common customer, as is Columbia Sportswear and the California Department of Water Resources. With organizations worldwide turning to software-defined data center (SDDC) operations, and often turning to VMware infrastructure tools to deliver these operations, the move to bring in Arkin makes VMware that much better for the addition of new planning platforms, new automation tools to put the plans in place, and troubleshooting systems for when things go wrong.
VMware's senior vice president and general manager Ajay Singh referred to Arkin as “a great fit for VMware and its customers,” and one that would “accelerate our growth businesses including cloud management and network virtualization.” That was a point assented by Arkin co-founder and chief executive Shiv Agarwal, who noted the long-standing partnership between Arkin and VMware, pointing out Arkin's “operations paradigm” that gave VMware the ability to bring out its NSX network virtualization systems.
The new combination should produce some impressive results. With more and more businesses turning to virtualization and data centers, the ability to make these systems run more smoothly and safer besides is worth bringing out. In fact, a safer system that runs better becomes a competitive advantage, and given how many firms there are in the data center market already, having that competitive edge could get some new business in play. Though VMware likely won't realize a lot of new customers out of this acquisition—especially given how many the two firms shared already—it's still making an excellent case for future customers in an increasingly-competitive field.
VMware and Arkin together represent an impressive new opportunity for advancement, and may ultimately produce a major new market figure in a growing market. Good news for all concerned...particularly the company's future customers.
Edited by Maurice Nagle
