Cisco plans to acquire privately held Tidal Software, a maker of
application management and automation software, paying about $105
million in cash plus retention-based incentives.
Cisco says that the acquisition will create significant opportunities
for both Cisco and its partners through the delivery of partner-led
services that leverage Cisco’s application management capabilities.
Although privately held, Tidal Software says that in the quarter ended
Dec. 31, 2008, its professional services and maintenance revenues had
climbed significantly, growing by 26 percent over the same period a
year earlier.
According to Cisco, the addition of Tidal Software will help customers
get more from their business applications by automating operational
best practices in real time, which can lead to reduced operational
costs.
Cisco says that Houston-based Tidal software’s solutions will bolster
Cisco’s data center strategy “by providing timely, accurate and
cost-efficient management and automation of application performance
across entire business operations, from the server through the network
to the desktop,” the company says in its prepared statement announcing
the acquisition.
The Tidal Software acquisition news follows recent moves by Cisco to
become more heavily entrenched in the data center space through its
Unified Computing initiative.
Cisco says that upon completion of the deal, the Tidal Software team
will become part of the Cisco Advanced Services organization. The deal
is expected to close in Q4 of Cisco’s fiscal year.
