UPDATED 22:21 EDT / AUGUST 09 2018

CLOUD

VMware buys Dell EMC’s Service Assurance Suite to boost its networking services

VMware Inc. has done some more wheeling and dealing with its parent company Dell Technologies Inc., announcing a definitive agreement Thursday to acquire the technology and team behind Dell EMC’s Service Assurance Suite platform.

The Service Assurance Suite comprises software for monitoring the health and performance of information technology networks, and for performing root cause analysis. Aimed at communications service providers, it provides visibility and analysis into both physical and virtual networks and cloud environments, and works by identifying how resources are used and whether service level agreements are being met.

Once the acquisition goes through, VMware said the plan is to integrate the technology into its Network Functions Virtualization platform for telcos, bringing those service assurance capabilities in support of virtual network function deployments.

Service Assurance Suite currently has more than 50 service provider customers, VMware said. Those customers, which serve a range of enterprises and government agencies, will continue to have access to the platform.

VMware’s Shekar Ayyar, the company’s executive vice president for strategy and corporate development and general manager of its Telco NFV Group, said the new capabilities would help it facilitate impending 5G network deployments. “As carriers are readying for 5G, they are increasingly virtualizing edge and core networks with network functions virtualization, or NFV,” Ayyar said in a statememt. “Service assurance is a critical need for any network.”

The deal comes just weeks after Dell Technologies announced plans to become a publicly traded company once again, via a complex financial maneuver that will see it buy out investors of a special stock that was created to track the performance of VMware.

That deal, following months of internal deliberation by Dell’s leadership, resulted in an offer to shareholders of either $109 a share in cash or 1.3665 shares of newly issued Class C stock for each share of the tracking stock, called DVMT.

Analysts said at the time the deal was likely motivated by Dell’s desire to prioritize paying off the massive debt it took on when it acquired EMC Corp. for $67 billion back in 2015.

The dealings may also make Dell more profitable. In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it projects revenues to grow by as much as two-thirds if shareholders back the buyout plan, The Register reported this week.

Image: Enterprise 2.0 Conference/Flickr

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