Juniper Networks may have turned the corner from its restructuring phase today with a major acquisition of Ottawa-based BTI Systems Inc., a provider of cloud along with metro networking solutions.
According to Juniper, this acquisition will enable the company to further its open and automated packet optical transport solutions. These solutions are integrated into the NorthStar Controller product. With BTI in the fold Juniper plans to position themselves as the go-to vendor for data centre interconnect (DCI) and metro networking customers.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We believe the acquisition allows Juniper to accelerate its existing strategy for optical integration in the fast growing DCI and Metro markets,” said Jonathan Davidson, executive vice president, general manager, Juniper Development and Innovation in a prepared statement.
For channel partners the two vendors will combine Juniper’s switching and IP routing with BTI’s cloud connect optical platform, said company channel chief Matt Hurley in a blog post.
“This is a big deal,” he said. “BTI solutions are transforming the economics, performance and innovation of global networks through intelligent networking software and systems. The company caters to content, cloud and service providers to improve operational efficiencies and profitability to businesses and consumers in major metros and data centre hubs,” Hurley added.
Recently BTI announced that its new BTI 7800 Virtual Network Edge solution integrates with cloud/Web 2.0 technologies with a converged packet-optical platform. The BTI 7800 Virtual Network Edge is intended to leverage the high-density and massively scalable SDN-enabled metro packet-optical platform.
The plan now for the channel includes leveraging Juniper’s existing partners, while targeting the service provider channel with resellers and the company’s direct sales force.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. Hurley said that the status quo remains for BTI channel partners and that Juniper training and certification programs will be provided to them after the close of the transaction.