Cisco Buys Hyperconvergence Software Company Springpath

The $320 million acquisition will bolster Cisco's position in the fast-growing market for hyperconverged infrastructure.

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Cisco Systems is getting further enmeshed in the market for hyperconverged infrastructure and announced on Monday that it will buy hyperconvergence software startup Springpath for $320 million. The deal is expected to close this quarter. 

Hyperconverged platforms combine computing, storage, networking and virtualization capabilities into a single appliance, all pre-integrated and controlled by one management layer. Springpath's technology includes a distributed file system purpose-built for hyperconvergence that enables server-based storage systems, Cisco notes in a press release. IDC says the hyperconverged infrastructure market grew 64.7 percent year-over-year during the first quarter of 2017, generating $665.1 million worth of sales. The research firm expects the market to reach $6 billion by 2020. 

Cisco has invested in and partnered with Springpath, and their collaboration led to rollout last year of Cisco's HyperFlex solution. “By co-engineering Springpath’s software with the Cisco Unified Computing System, we have delivered a fully integrated platform with HyperFlex and innovation at all layers of the data center stack,” Rob Salvagno, head of corporate development and Cisco investments, says in a company blog post. “This provides customers with the convenience and benefit of getting all the HyperFlex software and hardware from a single vendor.”

The deal comes after Hewlett-Packard Enterprise acquired hyperconverged infrastructure specialist SimpliVity earlier this year for $650 million.