NTT Communications is enhancing its cloud services portfolio by acquiring Virtela, a managed and cloud services provider, for about $525 million, as well as an 80 percent stake in data center provider RagingWire for $350 million.
By combining Virtela's service platform with NTT Communications' global ICT infrastructure, the combined company will be able to better address multi-site cloud service opportunities. When the deal is completed next year, NTT will expand its global network services coverage to over 190 countries and regions.
Through its global operations and delivery centers in the United States, India and the Philippines, Denver-based Virtela today serves over 500 customers, including a number of large multinational corporations. NTT Communications offers ICT outsourcing, including its Arcstar Universal One virtualized network services and customer-premise-to-data center and cloud-to-cloud services, which use software defined networking (SDN) technologies.
Ron Haigh, Virtela's President, told FierceTelecom in an e-mail that "NTT and Virtela share a global cloud vision and passion for support and we are excited to accelerate our efforts together to further strengthen our offerings for customers worldwide."
NTT Communications said it will enhance its broadband network services in "nearly every country of the world" by leveraging Virtela's service activation and advanced management infrastructure.
In addition, the Japan-based service provider will upgrade its cloud-based network services with Virtela's network function virtualization (NFV) technology, enabling it to virtualize customers' network equipment, such as firewalls and WAN accelerators. The two companies said that their enterprise customers will be able to get instant service activation and reduce IT service costs.
The service provider reached a separate deal to acquire approximately 80 percent equity interest in RagingWire, a U.S. data center provider. Besides doubling its data center space in the United States, NTT Communications will take advantage of the data center provider's patented 2N+2TM design, which it says "offers double the redundancy of a standard data center design at a lower cost."
Similar to other deals NTT Communications has made with cloud and data center providers, RagingWire's founders and management team will continue to operate the company as a platform under the RagingWire brand and maintain a minority interest in the company.
NTT Communications' recent moves reflect the company's overall strategy to build its cloud and data center service reach by purchasing other companies that have expertise in these areas. Earlier, the service provider acquired Solutionary and Centerstance, which gave it greater managed security and business transformation capabilities.
For more:
- see the Virtela release
- and the RagingWire release
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Updated article on Oct. 28 with a quote from Ron Haigh, Virtela's President.