Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) has reached an agreement to acquire ConteXtream, a provider of OpenDaylight-based software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualizations (NFV) products and a card-carrying member of HP’s OpenNFV initiative.
According to HP, ConteXtream’s open SDN controller platform complement’s HP’s NFV expertise and telecommunications and IT experience. It also matches HP’s OpenNFV solutions and plans for an open-source driven architecture. The ConteXtream platform has been deployed by several major carriers globally. Saar Gillai, Senior VP and General Manager of NFV, HP said that he was delighted to welcome the ConteXtream team and its sound expertise in carrier-grade network virtualizations solutions to HP.
The financial details of the deal were not revealed. Certain market sources believed the acquisition ran into several tens of millions of dollars. As part of the acquisition, Nachman Shelef, current ConteXtream chairman and CEO, will be at the helm of ConteXtream. The latter will be part of HP’s Communication Solutions Business. Shelef will be reporting to Gillai.
The acquistion’s goal was to increase HP’s strength in the NFV market that is a significant market for CSPs. It is predicted that the market will have an $11 billion market value by 2018.
With its headquarters at Mountain View, California ConteXtream provides solutions by which service providers can build a more flexible and programmable network via an SDN/NFV model.
Currently, Communications Service Providers (CSPs) are confronted with rising network traffic on their infrastructure and declining margins. Contextream’s software utilizes a distributed controller and virtual switches for federated control, balancing loads on physical and virtual network equipment. The fabric has the capability to identify and direct traffic to specific subsets of network functions or services required to support each subscriber flow.
According to Gillai, one of the methods CSPs can obtain the agility required to compete is to transfer networking functions from monolithic, proprietary appliances to open, cloud-based architectures. He added that the communication industry was moving away from being tied to dedicated machines to possessing a resource pool with automated, self-service mechanisms.
Sources: zdnet.com, others
