IT giant Cisco Systems (CSCO) today announced plans to acquire Metacloud, a Pasadena, California-based OpenStack cloud service company.

Metacloud deploys and operates private clouds for global organizations via an OpenStack-as-a-service model that delivers and remotely operates private clouds in a customer’s data center.

Cisco said Metacloud will help accelerate the growth of its Intercloud, a cloud network that is designed to address customer requirements for a globally distributed, highly secure cloud platform that can support the “Internet of Everything.”

“For enterprise clients, Cisco and our partners will offer Metacloud’s OpenStack offering as a service to enable hybrid IT solutions,” a Cisco spokesperson told Talkin’ Cloud. “Metacloud’s team and technology will complement Cisco’s existing cloud services team and partners to help advance our Intercloud delivery by providing the broadest choice across private, public and hybrid clouds, across distributions, in heterogeneous infrastructure environments and on-premise and off.”

Hilton Romanski, senior vice president of Cisco Corporate Development, said he believes the Metacloud acquisition will provide his company’s customers with new cloud options as well.

“We believe Metacloud’s technology will play a critical role in enabling our customers to experience a seamless journey to a new world of many clouds, providing choice, flexibility and data governance,” he said in a prepared statement.

Cisco said it expects the Metacloud acquisition to be completed in the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

Cisco wants to expand its cloud business

Cisco noted it acquired Metacloud for several reasons, including gaining the cloud service company’s OpenStack technology.

The OpenStack community is garnering attention from both end users and vendors, Cisco said, and this open source platform will be “an integral element of Cisco’s move into the cloud services business.”

Cisco also announced in March it would spend $1 billion over the next two years to expand its cloud business, and the Metacloud acquisition could be the first of several Cisco investments in this sector.

“While we can’t comment on potential future acquisitions, they are a part of [our cloud business] strategy, as demonstrated by today’s news,” a Cisco spokesperson said.

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