UPDATED 21:45 EDT / OCTOBER 19 2017

INFRA

Cisco snaps up machine learning startup Perspica to boost AppDynamics platform

Cisco Systems Inc. on Thursday made another statement of intent about its future plans, saying it’s planning to acquire a company called Perspica Inc., which uses machine learning to analyze streams of data in real time.

The plan is for Cisco to integrate Perspica’s technology with its AppDynamics product. Cisco acquired AppDynamics, which provides network and application monitoring and analytics tools, earlier this year in a massive $3.7 billion deal. Cisco didn’t disclose the purchase price for Perspica.

The AppDynamics acquisition was seen by analysts at the time as being central to Cisco Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins’ future plans for the company. Cisco, like many legacy technology firms, is still in the midst of restructuring itself to fuel growth in priority areas like security, IoT, collaboration, next-generation data center and cloud, while cutting costs in lower-growth areas.

When it bought AppDynamics, Cisco effectively gatecrashed a nascent market for application performance monitoring tools that Robbins sees as critical to Cisco’s future growth. Cisco has moved swiftly since then to integrate AppDynamics’ technology into its own product portfolio.

Just this week the company announced a couple of new artificial intelligence-powered predictive services based on AppDynamics technology that are designed to help customers anticipate failures in their information technology systems. However, Cisco is also maintaining AppDynamics as a product in its own right, updating its platform this week with new analytics and “internet of things” features.

When the Perspica acquisition is completed early next year, AppDynamics will be able to integrate its technology to enhance its monitoring capabilities further. Perspica specializes in using machine learning to analyze operations data in real-time in order to help customers spot problems with their applications and IT infrastructure. That makes it great fit AppDynamics, especially when one considers the ever-increasing amounts of data that companies generate.

The acquisition will also be beneficial to Cisco customers who have bought into the company’s vision of managing and monitoring their applications, said Holger Mueller, principal analyst and vice president at Constellation Research Inc. “Perspica brings important machine learning capabilities to Cisco and AppDynamics, and it complements the company’s vision around managing applications.”

In a blog post, Rob Salvagno, vice president of corporate business development at Cisco, said Perspica’s engineering team will join AppDynamics with the end goal of integrating the two products. The goal is to give AppDynamics a real-time intelligence layer that lets it surface more data faster.

“Ultimately, it will enable us to deliver our vision for the future of performance that is infinitely scalable and ridiculously fast to keep pace with developments in the enterprise,” said Bhaskar Sunkara, chief technology officer and senior vice president of product management at AppDynamics.

Image: Ashwin Kumar/Flickr

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Support our open free content by sharing and engaging with our content and community.

Join theCUBE Alumni Trust Network

Where Technology Leaders Connect, Share Intelligence & Create Opportunities

11.4k+  
CUBE Alumni Network
C-level and Technical
Domain Experts
15M+ 
theCUBE
Viewers
Connect with 11,413+ industry leaders from our network of tech and business leaders forming a unique trusted network effect.

SiliconANGLE Media is a recognized leader in digital media innovation serving innovative audiences and brands, bringing together cutting-edge technology, influential content, strategic insights and real-time audience engagement. As the parent company of SiliconANGLE, theCUBE Network, theCUBE Research, CUBE365, theCUBE AI and theCUBE SuperStudios — such as those established in Silicon Valley and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) — SiliconANGLE Media operates at the intersection of media, technology, and AI. .

Founded by tech visionaries John Furrier and Dave Vellante, SiliconANGLE Media has built a powerful ecosystem of industry-leading digital media brands, with a reach of 15+ million elite tech professionals. The company’s new, proprietary theCUBE AI Video cloud is breaking ground in audience interaction, leveraging theCUBEai.com neural network to help technology companies make data-driven decisions and stay at the forefront of industry conversations.