Cisco spends $1.2bn on cloud networking specialist

Networking equipment vendor Cisco has announced its intention to acquire privately held cloud management company Meraki for $1.2bn in cash.

The acquisition of Meraki complements Cisco’s offerings with software that enables enterprises to centrally manage their network infrastructure from the cloud.

Meraki technology offers wifi, switching, security and mobile device management that can be centrally directed from the cloud. Meraki supports BYOD, guest networking, application control, WAN optimisation, application firewall and advanced networking services.

Meraki’s cloud networking tools will expand Cisco’s network offerings by providing scalable offerings for midmarket businesses and will strengthen Cisco’s Unified Access platform.

“The acquisition of Meraki enables Cisco to make simple, secure, cloud managed networks available to our global customer base of mid-sized businesses and enterprises. These companies have the same IT needs as larger organizations, but without the resources to integrate complex IT solutions,” said Rob Soderbery, senior vice president, Cisco Enterprise Networking Group.