Brocade to Acquire Connectem

Brocade announced its intent to acquire Connectem, a privately-held company in the LTE virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) market, in an all-cash transaction. Connectem provides highly-differentiated vEPC solutions with unique architectural attributes that leverage cloud computing, network virtualization, and software networking technologies to deliver higher scale and efficiency on x86-based servers. Connectem software focuses on mapping mobile workloads to cloud resources, eliminating the constraints of physical equipment boundaries, yet still maintaining the capability to integrate with traditional node-based EPC architectures, the press release said.

Brocade said the acquisition of Connectem extends Brocade’s leadership in software networking and virtualized network functions, by enabling service providers and enterprises to offer ubiquitous connectivity between mobile and IoT devices, data centers, as well as public and private clouds. Connectem’svEPC solutions integrate seamlessly with Brocade’s software and physical networking product portfolios to deliver industry-leading New IP data center infrastructure.

Said Lloyd Carney, CEO of Brocade, “I am very pleased to bring this technology into our portfolio as we invest strategically in New IP across NFV and SDN to provide seamless data center and cloud solutions.”

The acquisition of Connectem is another key component of Brocade’s transformative investment strategy, complementing the acquisitions of Vyatta, Vistapointe, and the recently-announced SteelApp virtual ADC product line from Riverbed. Terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed, and it is expected to close in Brocade’s second quarter of fiscal 2015, subject to customary closing conditions and regulations. Following the acquisition, Brocade expects its FY15 financial performance to be consistent with the non-GAAP operating margin target of 25% provided during its fiscal first quarter earnings call on February 19, 2015.