Juniper Networks is acquiring Netrounds, a programmable, software-based active test and service assurance platform for fixed and mobile networks, the company says. The deal is designed for service providers to deliver improved end-user experiences, Juniper asserts.
This is M&A deal number 392 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2020. See the full M&A deal list here.
Netrounds, founded in 2007, works by using active service-layer testing, using traffic-generating test agents, to validate the end-to-end quality of experience from a customer perspective, according to the statement.
Netrounds actively confirms that network services work —and that they continue to work — during their entire lifecycle, according to the statement, as well as offering insight to where problems originated if things do go wrong.
The Netrounds solution is fully software-based for deployment in both physical transport networks and in the cloud, according to Juniper. Netrounds will enhance Juniper’s existing automated WAN solutions to further simplify operations for service providers and ensure positive end-user experiences, the company said in the statement. The proposed acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing and regulatory approvals.
Juniper Acquires Netrounds: Executive Commentary
“End-user expectations for a consistently high quality of experience for services delivered over IP networks in the cloud era are extremely high, and the onset of 5G will only accelerate this. Service providers are increasingly looking to differentiate themselves by looking beyond offering basic connectivity and focusing on the quality assurance of their services,” said Manoj Leelanivas, chief product officer, Juniper Networks. “Today’s announcement and plan to bring Netrounds into Juniper will fully automate the complexities of testing and actively monitoring those customer service experiences at scale, a crucial step to staying competitive in today’s dynamic market.”
“Today, end users are often the first to discover service quality problems, as traditional assurance solutions primarily focus on passive device health instead of service quality,” adds Mats Nordlund, CEO and co-founder of Netrounds. “Combined with Juniper Networks’ sophisticated network automation solutions, service and cloud providers are now able to rapidly deliver software-defined network services with guaranteed end-to-end service quality. For our customers, this is a key success factor when rolling out solutions in dynamic environments built on 5G network slicing, Kubernetes, SD-WAN and hybrid-cloud. We are thrilled to be joining Juniper to provide higher levels of automated assurance to complex networks.”
