Google Acquires VMware Hybrid Cloud Specialist CloudSimple

Mark Bergen and Nico Grant (Bloomberg) -- Google announced plans to buy enterprise software firm CloudSimple Inc., another sign the search giant isn’t letting a flurry of antitrust investigations interrupt its expansion strategy.

CloudSimple will join Google Cloud, a priority business for the Alphabet Inc. unit. The companies didn’t disclose financial terms.

The acquisition could help Google get a foothold in a corner of the cloud-computing market where larger rivals, Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc., have run ahead. CloudSimple builds tools that help companies move information, applications, databases and other systems from in-house data centers to the public cloud.

The Santa Clara, California-based startup specializes in VMware virtualization software, which helps businesses run corporate networks and business software more efficiently. VMware’s large enterprise customer base has made it an attractive partner for the leading public cloud providers, including Google.

In a Google blog post announcing the deal, Ajay Patel, a VMware Inc. senior vice president, said his company will continue to work with CloudSimple.

In recent months, U.S. regulators and Congress have opened multiple inquiries into Google over competition concerns, including the company’s history of acquisitions. Since those probes began, Google has announced multibillion-dollar takeovers of Looker Data Sciences Inc., a cloud company, and Fitbit Inc., a device-maker.

Related:Microsoft Meets Long-Time Rival VMware With Open Hybrid-Cloud Arms

Google has argued that it has a small market share in cloud computing, enterprise software and consumer devices. Antitrust officials cleared Google’s $2.6 billion bid for Looker in early November.