5 Powerhouse Cloud Vendors That Just Rounded Out Their Portfolios Through Acquisitions

Upgrading Cloud Portfolios

Last week saw some of the largest cloud technology companies agree to purchase startups, and in some cases rivals, to bulk up their portfolios and gain an edge in an ultra-competitive market.

In each of the five deals listed below, name-brand giants -- Citrix Systems, VMware, Oracle, Google and Carbonite -- sought to add technical capabilities, market presence, and engineering talent to core product lines, rather than enter new categories.

The flurry of acquisition activity by companies of their stature shines a spotlight on the necessity of constantly upgrading already mature products and services as enterprise customers look for more comprehensive offerings.

Citrix Aims To Accelerate App Delivery

Citrix Systems acquired Cedexis, a Portland, Ore.-based software developer that optimizes application performance and content delivery across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Cedexis technology dynamically manages network traffic across the internet to smooth and accelerate the flow of data, making it a good fit for the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based virtualization giant.

Citrix Chief Product Officer PJ Hough said the technology integrated into Citrix solutions is needed in a DevOps-oriented world in which applications are built with microservices architectures.

"It will add some rocket fuel to Citrix ability to optimize application delivery," Carl Gersh, director of sales and marketing at Forthright Technology Partners, a Citrix partner based in Miramar, Fla., told CRN.

Cedexis should complement and extend the capabilities of Citrix’s NetScaler SD-WAN product.

VMware Captures CloudCoreo

As VMware pursues its multi-cloud strategy, CloudCoreo's technology could prove a valuable addition to partners in securing and managing applications that span public and private clouds.

CloudCoreo's platform proactively identifies public cloud risks during deployment to prevent future breaches and compliance violations. The solution continuously scans and monitors cloud infrastructure to protect applications and data.

VMware said CloudCoreo will be integrated into its solutions portfolio to extend support of consistent operations across any cloud.

Oracle Seizes A Security Startup

Oracle, looking to boost the application and network protection around its cloud services, agreed to purchase security startup Zenedge.

The Redwood Shores, Calif.-based software vendor said the acquisition of the Aventura, Fla.-based startup will make it easier for enterprises to adopt cloud services without compromising performance, cost, control or security. Zenedge's web application firewall and DDoS mitigation products help customers secure their applications, networks, databases and APIs from malicious internet traffic.

"The combination with Zenedge equips Oracle Cloud Infrastructure with integrated, next-generation network and infrastructure security to address modern security threats,’ Don Johnson, Oracle's senior vice president of product development, said in a statement.

Google To Integrate Xively In Internet Of Things Play

Google, looking to advance the capabilities of its Cloud IoT Core service, agreed to acquire LogMeIn's Xively enterprise IoT platform for $50 million.

Google Cloud will leverage Xively to accelerate customers' timeline for deploying and managing interconnected devices at the edge of their networks, said Antony Passemard, product management lead, Google Cloud Platform.

"Through this acquisition, [Google's] Cloud IoT Core will gain deep IoT technology and engineering expertise, including Xively’s advanced device management, messaging and dashboard capabilities," Passemard said.

LogMeIn sold off the mature IoT platform soon after revealing plans to acquire cloud-based unified communications provider Jive Communications for $324 million, with another $15 million in incentives.

Carbonite Bulks Up Backup With Mozy

Cloud-based storage vendor Carbonite agreed to buy from Dell Technologies the rival Mozy data backup platform for $146 million.

The Boston-based company is financing the deal through a combination of cash on hand and a $120 million revolving debt facility.

Mozy was founded in 2005, and only two years later acquired by EMC. It became part of Dell when the hardware giant purchased EMC in 2016.

Both Mozy and Carbonite started as consumer-focused cloud storage companies, but have since evolved into the enterprise space, where channel partnerships yield the bulk of their businesses.