News

Cisco Pads Cloud Portfolio with newScale Acquisition

• By Jeffrey Schwartz
• March 29, 2011

Cisco Systems announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire newScale Inc., a provider of self-service, self-catalog and lifecycle management software. Founded in 1999, newScale's products are particularly aimed at IT pros who are deploying hybrid and private computing resources. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to newScale, its service -- which it describes as a portal or storefront for both datacenter and desktop services -- currently has 2 million users. It provides a Web-based catalog of service options with dynamic self-service provisioning and lifecycle management for controlled access to resources, according to a company description.

"Cloud computing represents a major shift in the evolution of the Internet, and as more customers migrate from traditional IT infrastructures, the need for rapid self-provisioning and efficient management becomes increasingly critical," said Parvesh Sethi, senior vice president of Cisco Services, in a statement. 

"With the acquisition of newScale, Cisco will be able to accelerate the deployment of cloud services through a service catalog and self-service portal that allows customers to easily manage their IT infrastructures," Sethi said.

The acquisition of newScale fits in with Cisco's plan to provide cloud management and automation solutions. According to a Cisco FAQ, the impact to existing customers will be minimal: "newScale's customers will continue to receive the same level of support, services, and technology that they are accustomed to receiving."