NetApp Inc. today said that it has acquired CloudJumper Corp., a Citrix Systems Inc. competitor with a software platform for running virtual desktops in the cloud.

Garner, North Carolina-based CloudJumper has not raised any outside funding. The terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

CloudJumper’s platform, CWMS, allows companies to set up virtual Windows desktops that their workers can access remotely. The software provides the ability to host virtual desktops on Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Corp.’s Azure, Google Cloud or on-premises infrastructure. CWMS provides a management interface that administrators can use to manage virtual desktops, as well as an autoscaling feature that automatically adds or removes hardware capacity based on demand.

NetApp will relaunch CWMS as the NetApp Virtual Desktop Service. The deal is timely because one of the main use cases for virtual desktops is supporting remote employees who can’t use a workstation in their office. 

Desktop virtualization was already a focus for NetApp before the current surge in enterprise adoption of remote work tools. The company sells several versions of its NetApp HCI hyperconverged infrastructure systems that are specifically designed to run virtual desktops. By acquiring CloudJumper, NetApp may gain an opportunity to increase revenue from its hyperconverged systems by bundling the hardware with virtual desktop management software.

For the time being, however, the company is looking to use the CloudJumper deal mainly to boost its cloud portfolio. It plans to integrate the CWMS-based NetApp Virtual Desktop Service with the Azure NetApp Files and Cloud Volumes products, which provide storage management features for the major public clouds. 

“NetApp and CloudJumper provides a simplified management platform for delivering virtual desktop infrastructure, storage and data management across Microsoft Azure, AWS and Google Cloud with best in class virtual desktop management combined with best in class storage and data services,” Anthony Lye, head of NetApp’s Cloud Data Services business, said in a statement.

Even before the acquisition, CloudJumper had partnered with NetApp to make its CMWS software compatible with the latter’s products. Talon Storage Solutions Inc., the  storage startup that NetApp acquired last month, was a partner as well. It’s a reflection of the important role the channel plays for NetApp, which leverages industry alliances to extend its product capabilities and boost sales efforts. 

The CloudJumper deal once again turns the spotlight to NetApp’s partnership strategy. The company said it will invest “significant resources” in expanding  CloudJumper’s existing channel program with the goal of “enhancing the capabilities of MSP, VAR, SI and ISV partners to solve customer challenges and grow their businesses.” 

Photo: NetApp