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VMware is buying VeloCloud Networks in one of the most significant SD-WAN acquisitions in the technology’s relatively short history.

The virtualization and cloud infrastructure company says the acquisition will close in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, which ends early in 2018. VeloCloud’s SD-WAN offering will complement VMware’s NSX network virtualization platform, and will “further enable VMware to lead the industry transition to a software-defined future.”
VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger says VeloCloud’s SD-WAN technology will help NSX become more automated, secure and independent from infrastructure.

VMware’s Pat Gelsinger

“In the digital era, a new networking approach is required to solve the hyper distribution of applications and data, as we move from a model of data centers to one of centers of data at the edge. At the heart of VMware’s networking strategy is the belief in delivering pervasive connectivity with embedded security that connects users to applications wherever they may be,” Gelsinger said.

VMware says more than 1,000 customers have adopted VeloCloud’s offering. VeloCloud’s number of service-provider partners has exceeded 50, including AT&T, Sprint and Windstream. It added VMware as a security technology partner back in August.

“Enterprises are transforming how they architect and utilize their infrastructure, with a shift towards a cloud-delivered, software-defined model. This enables organizations to have a globally consistent infrastructure regardless of where it is deployed — from the data center and the cloud to the edge,” VeloCloud CEO Sanjay Uppal said. “We look forward to helping VMware, the leader in software-defined infrastructure, in the next evolution of the company’s networking and NFV [network functions virtualization] strategies.”

VMware and many of its competitors have been championing the idea of a software-defined future for businesses, but this purchase is a concrete step in that direction. VeloCloud brings virtualized services to branch and mobile users from the cloud and uses x86 edge appliances. Tom Burns, senior vice president of enterprise infrastructure and service-provider solutions for Dell EMC – VMware’s parent company – repeated the idea that his company wants to transform the “cloud edge.”

“We recently announced a partnership with VeloCloud that includes joint product validation, coordination with product road maps, simplified ordering, and coordinated sales and marketing to improve solutions for our mutual customers,” Burns said. “We look forward to continuing this SD-WAN partnership with VMware upon closing to offer mutual customers best-in-class intelligent edge appliances.”