by Brad on 20 December 2011
Since Dell’s acquisition of Force10 Networks, many of us have wondered how Dell’s networking business, under the leadership of former Cisco Systems executive Dario Zamarian, would chart a course of distinction in data-center networking. While Zamar…
by Brad on 13 December 2011
It has been nearly eight years since EMC acquired VMware. The acquisition announcement went over the newswires on December 15, 2003. EMC paid approximately $635 million for VMware, and Joe Tucci, EMC’s president and CEO, had this to say about ……
by Brad on 31 October 2011
The networking industry’s version of Groundhog Day resurfaced late last week when the Wall Street Journal published an article in which “people familiar with the matter” indicated that Brocade Communications Systems was up for sale — again….
by Brad on 13 September 2011
As Cisco has struggled to adapt to the protracted global market downturn and the “recoveryless” recovery — it’s been going on so long, perhaps we should just call it the Information-Age Depression — the company’s CEO…
Now seems a good time to review Dell’s announcement last week regarding its acquisition of Force10 Networks. We knew a deal was coming, and now that the move finally has been made, we can can consider the implications. It was … Continue reading…
There’s a strong possibility that Dell will make a networking acquisition in the near future. In the spirit of fun, I thought it would be mildly entertaining, and perhaps edifying — though I don’t want to push it — to … Continue r…
It’s like being in a hall of mirrors this evening. But instead of being filled with mirrors, this hall echoes with furtive whispers about potential acquisitions involving networking-industry notables. Some of these rumors are unadulterated disinformation, propagated for one reason or another by vested interests (of which, I can assure you, I am not one). [...]
Over at The Register, they’re having Friday fun with industry rumors. They kick off proceedings with scuttlebutt that Brocade is a potential acquisition target for IBM, Dell, and Juniper. True, Brocade recently said it was off the market, and it rolled out a data-center strategy that suggested it was planning to remain an independent entity [...]
Well, I’m finally getting around to commenting on the Brocade One announcement earlier this week. To understand the present, however, it often is necessary to have an appreciation of the past. Brocade’s recent history was the precursor to its announcement this week, and recounting that history will help us understand what the company is trying [...]
A reader asked me to comment on the acquisition of SonicWALL, so that’s what I’ll do now. Yes, I sometimes take requests, just like a washed-up lounge lizard. The announced transaction has been well documented in the business and trade press. An investor group led by private-equity firm Thoma Bravo, and comprising the Ontario Teachers’ [...]
Journalists and pundits who’ve never crossed over to the “dark side” — that is, worked directly for an industry vendor — often are enamored of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). They think they’re exciting, the eminently newsworthy apotheoses and syntheses of bi-coastal wheeling and dealing on Sand Hill Road and Wall Street. These observers see the glamor [...]
In a post earlier today, I mentioned that HP, with 3Com now in the fold, understands that it must bolster the quality and quantity of its field-sales team if it hopes to compete effectively against Cisco Systems. HP is doing more than thinking and talking about it. According to sources familiar with the situation, HP [...]
A few commentators have opined that Juniper’s recently announced acquisition of Ankeena Networks was a me-too play, a means for the company to catch up with Cisco Systems in video-delivery infrastructure for mobile and wireline networks. There’s an element of truth to that assessment, but that’s why I like the deal, said to be valued [...]
When I first learned of the alleged acquisitive interest Apax Partners was said to have expressed toward Polycom, I dismissed it as nothing more than a media head fake.
Let’s consider: When news of that sort is leaked, it’s made public for a reason. In this context, it seemed, the reason was to bring [...]