Expand Nabs NetPriva

Expand Networks added more flesh to the bones of its WAN optimization strategy today, entering into an agreement to acquire Australian startup NetPriva. Terms were not disclosed.

NetPriva, which competes with Packeteer (now part of Blue Coat) streamlines traffic running over the WAN, which is increasingly becoming something of a choke-point for users.

The startup offers software that can manage different types of WAN traffic running across multiple locations, something that will be critical for Expand as it pushes into software-based WAN optimization.

Traditionally, the vendor has sold hardware appliances to handle data traveling across the WAN.

This is absolutely a technology acquisition,” says Adam Davison, Expand’s corporate vice president of sales and marketing, explaining that NetPriva offers Quality of Service (QOS) by classifying applications and controlling how they run over the network. By targeting applications at the socket layer, he says, NetPriva can prioritize different applications and offer users a guaranteed level of bandwidth.The exec also promised a smooth integration path for the two companies.

”This is the second acquisition that we have done,” he notes, alluding to Expand’s purchase of Wide Area Files Services (WAFS) specialist DiskSites in 2006. “After the acquisition of DiskSites, we feel that we can do an integration very smoothly and bring a technology to market very quickly.”

Although NetPriva’s client software runs mainly on PCs and servers, Gartner analyst Joe Skorupa thinks that the acquisition will eventually bring storage benefits, particularly when it comes to sharing files over the network.

“I think that they could use this soft[ware] client in a number of places,” he says. “Certainly, they could use it to optimize traffic for file-based access.”

NetPriva counts tire manufacturer Bridgestone and U.K. services giant Capita among its 100-strong list of customers, although Expand is mainly eyeing the startup’s IP.”It will put Expand into the unique position of having the only WAN optimization [software] client to do, not only generic WAN optimization features, but to be able to control traffic from any location to any location,” says Davison. “Most people have to have the traffic go through a data center to control it, but we will be able to control the traffic from any location.”

Expand is now planning to build NetPriva’s technology into a software client that will be launched in the first quarter of next year. The SoftWOC (Wan Optimization Controller) as it is known, will essentially boil Expand’s existing hardware offerings into software.

“NetPriva [software] will be integrated into the SoftWOC; it won’t be sold separately,” says Davison, adding that the Australian firm’s existing customers will continue to be supported.

Expand, which recently picked up $8.5 million in funding from Intel Capital, confirmed that NetPriva CEO Peter Vroom and the rest of his employees will join the company.

“We will be taking the NetPriva employees on board; we’re taking the organization as it is today into the Expand fold,” says Davison, explaining that the startup will keep its facilities in Adelaide, Australia. “It just becomes another Expand global office that we have in place.”The exec would not reveal the size of the NetPriva workforce, although Gartner’s Skorupa feels that the deal spells good news for Expand.

”More and more, network visibility is an issue,” he says. “You need to be able to drill down into the traffic.”Have a comment on this story? Please click "Discuss" below. If you'd like to contact Byte and Switch's editors directly, send us a message.