CA Acquires 3Tera in Cloud Management Play

3Tera, whose software helps companies deploy and manage cloud computing infrastructure, has been acquired by software giant CA, the companies announced today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"The significance of this acquisition is a heck of a lot more than just a land grab in a hot space," said 3Tera CEO Barry X Lynn. "We are confident that as a team, CA and 3Tera, will extend our leadership of the cloud computing platform market. "We had many options for the future and this is the one that excited us the most."

3Tera doesn’t host its own cloud platform, but licenses its AppLogic software to hosting companies to build virtual private data centers that can power cloud applications. The company's software is used by service providers like BT, KDDI and Layered Technologies. 3Tera has more than 80 customers.

The deal "has the possibility of shaking up the admittedly stodgy image of CA – and what CA can deliver for customers thinking about cloud computing," writes CA's Jay Fry, who joined the company in an earlier acquisition of Cassatt. "The 3Tera deal is certainly a very public acknowledgement by CA that cloud computing is front and center to what’s changing in IT. And, the deal drops another piece into place in a rapidly filling-out strategy by CA to address those changes."

3Tera's positioning of AppLogic tracks the evolution of recent industry trends. AppLogic began life as a "grid operating system" and was later presented as a tool for building virtual private data centers and is now described as a cloud computing platform. In a blog post, 3Tera's Lynn acknowledged chatter about a "cloud bubble" but said the CA deal is grounded in the real-world need to manage infrastructure.

"CA is a management company," wrote Lynn. "Their mission has always been and remains centered on the management of information technology. Their ability to adapt and manage each generation of technology has enabled them to thrive through all of these shifts. While there are several management vendors out there, we see most figuring out how to shoehorn customers’ needs into what they already have."