Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is to acquire venture-backed Ubiquisys, a Swindon, UK-based provider of intelligent 3G and long-term evolution (LTE) small-cell technologies that provide connectivity across mobile heterogeneous networks for service providers, for approximately $310m.
The acquisition will allow Cisco to add Ubiquisys’ indoor small-cell expertise and focus on intelligent software for licensed 3G and LTE spectrum to its mobility portfolio and Wi-Fi expertise and provide a comprehensive small-cell solution for service providers that supports the transition to next-generation radio access networks. The deal also complements Cisco’s mobility strategy along with the recent purchases of BroadHop and Intucell, reinforcing in-house R&D such as service provider Wi-Fi and licensed radio.
Upon the close of the acquisition, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Cisco’s fiscal year 2013, subject to customary closing conditions, the Ubiquisys employees will be integrated into the Cisco Mobility Business Group, reporting to Partho Mishra, vice president and general manager, Service Provider Small Cell Technology Group.
Beyond the above mentioned cash, Cisco will also pay in retention-based incentives to acquire the entire business and operations of Ubiquisys.FinSMEs
07/04/2013
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22/09/2010: Ubiquisys Raises $5M from Three Asian Investors
15/08/2012: Ubiquisys Raises $19M in Funding
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Cisco to Acquire Ubiquisys for $310M
Cloud Computing And Organizational Inertia
Cloud Computing And Organizational Inertia
Having spent this last week at the Cloud Connect event in Silicon Valley, I have had a number of interesting discussions with people involved with various aspects of cloud computing. While industry analysts such as Gartner and IDC are projecting that 80% of all servers running on native hardware are expected to be virtualized by 2020, many service provider and media representatives I’ve spoken with continue to be a little skeptical as far as these projections are concerned.
From a technical standpoint, the development effort by industry bellwethers like Cisco, IBM and HP has significantly accelerated the technological development in this space. Based on what I have seen at Cloud Connect and in the course of our daily work, I am confident that the underlying solutions will be ready to hit the mainstream by the end of 2013. Having said that, to meet the growth projections made by the analyst community, finalizing the facilitating technology stacks is not enough.
Over the last couple of months, our team conducted a vendor survey with 102 service providers around the world. Although there is still some work to do as far as technologies are concerned, I think perhaps the most interesting finding was that the biggest obstacle holding service providers back in their cloud and data center automation efforts is organizational inertia, not technology. In retrospect, this is of course logical, because large shifts like this also require changes on the organizational level.
Retail banking is another industry that has gone through a similar change, By now, most of us are used to doing the majority of our banking online, without the need to visit our local branch or to contact a designated representative to complete daily transactions. For banks this has required significant organizational changes involving cut-backs at the individual branches and increases in the size of the workforce managing the technology platforms that make online banking possible. Ultimately, this has made banking a lot more convenient for the average user, while providing the banking institutions with operational efficiencies.
Amidst all the hype, it is easy to forget that cloud computing is really not about technology. Rather, what the cloud promises us all is a new way to consume applications without having to give any thought to the underlying technologies. That translates to cost efficiencies, ease of use and self-service IT, based on process automation. When one thinks about all the companies using IT as an integral part of their operations, it becomes obvious that the impact of cloud computing will affect pretty much all industries, ultimately helping consumers to get more for less.
With an upside of this magnitude, it is no wonder that service providers and IT departments around the world are thinking about ways to benefit from this opportunity. Before embarking on this journey, however, most of these organizations would be well-advised to take a good look at their organizational structures. In traditional computing, various specialist teams have been working in silos, focusing on different areas of computing such as applications, databases, servers and networking. To enable end-to-end automation that spans across all these functions, organizational changes will likely be necessary.
To decide whether or not your own organization is ready for the change, here is a quick check-list:
1. Has the cloud computing initiative been made a strategic priority in the organization?
As people in IT departments always have a number of items on their to-do list, making cloud computing a priority across the organization is key to success. Unless everyone in the organization appreciates the strategic importance, coordinating efforts between different teams will become difficult and the momentum will be lost.
2. Have you named a sponsor who is senior enough to push the initiative through?
Resistance to change is natural. To make sure that the strategic cloud computing initiative is not derailed through politics, the initiative must be headed by a respected senior member of the organization whose judgement other people will trust. Ability to build trust between cross-functional teams is also a great asset.
3. Have you thoroughly assessed the make or buy aspects of cloud computing?
Since cloud computing is all about end-to-end automation and efficiency, a natural reaction within an IT department is to start securing bases by driving the cloud initiative towards home-grown or highly customized technical solutions provided by systems integrators. While this approach can be justified in select service provisioning environments, for most enterprises spending time and/or resources on developing IT systems in-house – or paying someone else to do that on customized basis is a waste of time and money. There are ample cloud computing and automation solutions available that can help your organization in meeting its requirements, making job security the only real driver for home-grown tweaks.
By Juha Holkkola
Juha is managing director of Nixu Software Oy Ltd, the cloud application deployment company, an affiliate of Nixu. He joined Nixu in early 2000 and has since held various business and sales management positions. Before Nixu, Juha worked for Nokia Networks and financial services company Sampo Group in various marketing and treasury positions.
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(Disclaimer: CloudTweaks publishes news and opinion articles from different contributors. All views and opinions in these articles belong entirely to our contributors. They do not reflect or represent in any way the personal or professional opinions of CloudTweaks.com or those of its staff.)Tagged as: analyst community, application deployment, Automation Solution, automation solutions, Cloud Application, Cloud Computing, enterprise, growth projections, IDC, IT department, job security, organizational inertia, Platform, Security, technical standpoint, technology platform, technology platforms
Interesting discussion
Top Cloud Computing Deployment Models
Published at DZone with permission of Omri Erel, author and DZone MVB. (source)Many people are becoming curious, with the increasing popularity of cloud topology, as to what cloud computing deployment models exist, and which ones are popular. While cloud is a big buzzword right now, a lot of people are kind of mystified in regards to what it really is. That’s ok, that’s what I’m here for.
So, today, I’m going to clarify once more, for those new here, what cloud computing is, then go over some cloud computing deployment models which are popular, and maybe talk a little bit about how they work.
First off, cloud just means that it exists off location, and is being stored, processed and/or served by an outside machine or machines. This is usually utilized so that software or processes can be controlled from devices too weak to actually perform them, but which clusters of servers, or one really strong server, can execute easily. It is an effective way of putting super computing into Joe Everyguy’s hands without a lot of fuss.
It’s also pursued as a safe and secure backup and storage system, as well as used for communications and cooperative software use and work performance online. So it’s pretty much anything web sources or web powered that’s not local network.
So, what are the popular deployment models for cloud computing? In general, there are three of these models that are standardly used, so let’s take a look at what they are.
The simplest model is just a typical webhost scenario, where you use a single dedicated server or host space on a server, and use limited enhanced computing and cloud services from this single source. It is the most affordable and easy to work with.
The second is the grid, which utilizes a series of servers, usually in the same datacenter, linked together to form a great, herculean computing force for all users logged into it. It’s the most expensive model, due to its specificity, but is also not the most powerful one, in technicality, which is …
Cluster computing. Cluster computing maps a global range of available servers regardless of space. It will link them together to form nodes of shared super computing power, often based on distance from the user. If any fail, the next nearest would take its place in an almost cellular or neural configuration. This system is prone to some faults, but is the most dynamic despite being only the middle of the road for pricing.
Algorithms for this model need to be refined and protocols adjusted, but what system doesn’t need that starting out?
If you’re interested in cloud computing deployment models, there exist very long PDFs that go into the deep, scientific details about the different architectures, including less-used ones than the ones I mention here. They also have, gasp, diagrams, which I cannot provide for you.
Cloud computing has some challenges ahead of it in being accepted and made completely practical for its intended range of purposes, but one day, it will take the place of traditional computing in many arenas, so we may as well embrace it now, and understand it to the fullest. Tomorrow waits for nobody, but nobody said we can’t get there early, right?
(Note: Opinions expressed in this article and its replies are the opinions of their respective authors and not those of DZone, Inc.)
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Great discussion on cloud computing Models for deployment