Ericsson buys into PaaS start up

Cloud technologies remain a strong investment target as Swedish infrastructure vendor Ericsson on Tuesday agreed to acquire a majority stake in US-based enterprise services startup Apcera.

The move will add next generation platform as-a-service (PaaS) technology to the Ericsson Cloud System, where the company’s key focus is on governance and automation of operator and enterprise IT operations.

Apcera is the developer of a service called Continuum which works across cloud, on premise and hybrid environments. Ericsson said with the addition of Apcera’s PaaS technology it will deliver complete cloud automation to run all workloads and use cases, while providing complete control for infrastructure.

Cloud is one of the strategic areas Ericsson is targeting for growth, and PaaS is a key area of focus. “The beauty of the cloud is that it is much more efficient to develop, roll-out and operate applications,” Jason Hoffman, Vice President and Head of Product Line Cloud Software, Ericsson said. “To realize the full potential, cloud environments need security and governance, which our partnership with Guardtime and our acquisition of a majority stake in Apcera provides. With these technologies in place, enterprises and individuals can trust the integrity and the confidentiality of their infrastructure.”

Apcera will operate as a standalone company and Ericsson said it will commit significant funding for Apcera’s technology and global expansion of its enterprise sales channel, as well as funding toward development of next-generation technology.

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