Savvis Sells Virtual Switch Savvy

Savvis Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: SVVS) wants to set the record straight about the remains of Inkra Networks. That startup is deceased, but its heart is still pumping away.

Inkra closed its doors earlier this year after raising more than $67 million since its inception in 2000. The company made and sold a product that embodied the concept of virtualization (see Inkra Goes Virtual).

Inkra's Virtual Service Switch allowed data center managers to deploy multiple instances of a variety of security and management services -- all from the same appliance. They were one of the earliest companies that put an end to the "need a feature, buy a box" way of managing IT services. While most data center managers will admit that virtualization is a trend that's catching on, Inkra, for whatever reason, couldn't make a business out of selling its devices, despite some decent customer wins (see IBM Enlists Business Partners).

Savvis, the company that started as a business unit of Bridge Information Systems, a financial market data company, has come forward since then to say that it bought the hardware and software rights to Inkra's most recent Virtual Service Switch. Light Reading previously reported that and were the only vultures feasting on the roadkill.

A Savvis spokesman says the company has also hired several Inkra developers to maintain the software and to help the company use the platform to further its vision of "utility computing."