Juniper Networks has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire networking and automation company Apstra, the company said in a statement.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Juniper said it does not expect the acquisition of Apstra to materially impact revenue in 2021. While the acquisition is expected to be approximately break-even to non-GAAP earnings for the full-year 2021, it will likely be dilutive during the first half of the year, Juniper said. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to revenue growth and non-GAAP earnings in 2022, according to the statement.
This is M&A deal 508 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2020. See the full M&A deal list here.
Juniper Networks to Acquire Networking and Automation Company Apstra
The Apstra buy will further Juniper’s strategy to increase adoption and usage of AI-driven automation, according to the statement. The Apstra closed loop automation and analytics solution allows architects to describe how a data center should behave in terms of outcomes, and then the system implements changes and continuously assures that network operations and user experience match that intent, according to the statement.
Apstra’s network automation is based on an open, multivendor architecture and integrates with Juniper’s data center networking portfolio that is based on Junos, Juniper’s open data center operating system, according to the statement. The combined solution aims to help public and private cloud builders optimize application performance, according to Juniper.
The Apstra solutions also integrate with multiple vendors independently of their underlying infrastructure, including those running SONiC (Software for Open Networking in the Cloud) and Juniper Networks’s EVPN-VXLAN fabric, according to the statement.
The acquisition expands Juniper’s commitment to open programmability, adding to its portfolio of solutions that includes powerful switching platforms with native SONiC integration and a deployment-hardened, cloud-native routing stack for the SONiC ecosystem, according to the statement.
Juniper to Acquire Apstra: Executive Commentary
“Adding Apstra’s intent-based networking and automated closed loop assurance advances our vision to transform data center operations,” said Rami Rahim, CEO, Juniper Networks. “With the combination of Juniper and Apstra, customers get the best infrastructure and fabric management with integrated design, deployment and automated root cause identification and remediation to satisfy any data center environment. This is networking for the modern cloud era.”
“We founded Apstra to automate the data center as a holistic system from its initial design to all aspects of its operation and maintenance. Our automation allows valuable network engineers to focus on strategic issues and avoid spending time on network configuration and troubleshooting, particularly with the attendant risk of human error,” said David Cheriton, CEO and co-founder, Apstra. “Joining Apstra with Juniper's strong reputation in networking and its commitment to open networking removes the long-standing tradeoff between manageability and vendor lock-in and advances the industry toward the true self-driving network.”
