The new union between CloudBolt and SovLabs promises to give partners more tools for implementing and managing complex hybrid cloud projects.

CloudBolt, a cloud management platform vendor, said it has acquired SovLabs, which develops software for the VMware vRealize platform.

Adding SovLabs will give enterprises more tools to make the most of containers, IT service management and infrastructure as code deployments, according to CloudBolt. The privately held company didn’t say how much it paid for SovLabs. But it did say buying SovLabs achieves three aims. First, it instantly doubles its customer base. Second, it increases headcount by 50%. Third, the acquisition adds important technological capabilities for cloud management.

To the last point, CloudBolt will use SovLabs’ codeless integrations to reduce the costs and risks associated with custom coding. At the same time, as enterprises adopt more hybrid cloud configurations, CloudBolt hopes organizations will use its platform to secure and optimize resources. Channel partners will be integral to all of CloudBolt’s efforts, said Jeff Kukowski. He just took the helm as CloudBolt’s new CEO last month.

CloudBolt’s Jeff Kukowski

“This acquisition gives resellers and MSPs even greater relevance and margin opportunities when serving the massive installed base of VMware vRealize enterprises,” Kukowski told Channel Futures. “With the end of general support for vRealize Automation 7.x approaching, partners can use the … combination of CloudBolt and SovLabs to better serve the thousands of vRealize customers who are looking to migrate to vRealize Automation 8 or invest in complementary cloud management capabilities.”

Custom Coding Challenges

More importantly, Kukowski added, as enterprises worldwide turn to tools such as Terraform and Kubernetes for hybrid cloud, they stand to encounter custom coding challenges. Pairing CloudBolt and SovLabs removes those issues. Plus, it enables partners “to accelerate their automation projects with complete, multitool flexibility,” he said.

CloudBolt said buying SovLabs provides other capabilities. One, it includes letting enterprise IT (or its channel partners) build policies once, then extend them. In addition, it reduces organizations’ cloud vendor lock-in and integrates with CloudBolt via simple APIs. All of this increases customers’ ROI, CloudBolt said.

The marriage of CloudBolt and SovLabs comes during one of the strangest times in modern history. It’s a time that, while unprecedented and bizarre, continues to bode well for channel partners.

“Despite the climate we’re in, I’m very optimistic about the opportunities for CloudBolt’s channel partners in 2020 and beyond. In our conversations with CIOs at various enterprises, we continue to hear about the journey to digital transformation and the growing importance that hybrid cloud and automation have in this journey,” Kukowski said. “More importantly, we hear strongly that enterprises want choice and flexibility in the tools that they use, and to not be locked into single vendor technologies. … We believe we are in a great spot to help partners capture these opportunities by providing solutions that solve enterprise hybrid cloud challenges while optimizing their automation projects.”

To that point, Kukowski did not talk specifics, but did say “a robust partner program is critical” to CloudBolt’s success. Ensuring that marks one of his priorities as new CEO.

“We will continue to grow and build our global partner program, leveraging the significant channel momentum we’ve gained over the past year,” he said.

Advantages for Partners

For partners, such initiatives should only prove advantageous. Data from 451 Research show that 68% of enterprises undergoing digital transformation have identified hybrid cloud as an explicit IT strategy. That’s no surprise — hybrid cloud remains one of the hottest deployment configurations for its on- and off-premises versatility. Even so, organizations face difficulty automating those infrastructure deployments, which is what CloudBolt and SovLabs intend to address.

In terms of operations, CloudBolt said bringing on SovLabs’ personnel doubles the engineering, sales and services teams. It also bolsters VMware expertise. SovLabs is a VMware Technical Alliance Partner of the Year. It is also a Global Cloud Management and Automation Partner of the Year. Furthermore, it holds more than 150 VMware certifications in data center virtualization and automation. CloudBolt says three-quarters of its clients use VMware, so the augmented capabilities allow it to better serve customers.

SovLabs clients, meanwhile, get to take advantage of CloudBolt’s hybrid cloud provisioning, cost management and governance solutions.

“This acquisition is a great outcome for SovLabs customers and for the overall market,” Dave Wasserman, CEO of SovLabs, said.