Riverbed to Acquire Xirrus

Wireless solutions provider, Xirrus, has been acquired by Riverbed Technology. The terms of the transaction, expected to close in May, were not disclosed. According to Riverbed, the acquisition puts Riverbed and its partners to provide CIOs and businesses with a software-defined networking approach that delivers unified connectivity and orchestration across the entire network. The acquisition further strengthens Riverbed’s differentiated SD-WAN offering SteelConnect, LAN, WLAN, WAN, data center and the cloud, according to Riverbed’s vice president of Product Marketing and Strategy, Joshua Dobies. Riverbed says it will also continue to offer Xirrus as a stand-alone enterprise WLAN solution.

“Riverbed plans to integrate the Xirrus solutions into SteelConnect SD-WAN to deliver a more robust Wi-Fi capability and a unique enterprise networking solution, and will also continue to offer a stand-alone enterprise WLAN solution to customers,” Dobies told FierceWirelessTech via email. “The acquired technology will complement existing Riverbed strategic investments in R&D, and will add to its growing portfolio, creating significant value for Riverbed customers as well as new growth opportunities for Riverbed and its partners.”

“The SteelConnect offering is unique in that it is the first SD-WAN solution that has extended the power of policy-based orchestration out to the broader reaches of the distributed network,” said Paul O’Farrell, senior vice president of the Riverbed SteelConnect, SteelHead and SteelFusion Business Unit, in a statement. “By combining the advanced Wi-Fi capabilities of Xirrus and SteelConnect’s intuitive and powerful orchestration, we’re taking a bold step to bring the power of policy-based network management out to the wireless edge.”

Riverbed did not disclose specifics about how much of the current Xirrus staff, including Xirrus CEO Shane Buckley, will be moving over to Riverbed, but did say that a majority of Xirrus staff will be joining the company.