Roundup: VMware, Iron Mountain, Juniper

Here’s a roundup of some of this week’s headlines from the data center and hosting industry:

VMware to acquire Shavlik.  VMware (VMW) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Shavlik Technologies, a leading provider of easy-to-use, effective cloud-based IT management solutions for small and medium businesses (SMBs). “VMware continues to make investments to extend its leadership within the SMB market," said Raghu Raghuram, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cloud Infrastructure and Management, VMware. “With the Shavlik acquisition, VMware will be able to provide simple to use and affordable management services developed to address the specific demands of SMBs.”  Together the two companies will offer centralized IT management services, simplified deployment and automation, and automated IT management. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Iron Mountain sells Digital Solutions.  Iron Mountain (IRM) announced that it has have entered into a definitive agreement with Autonomy Corporation plc  under which Autonomy will acquire Iron Mountain’s online backup and recovery, digital archiving and eDiscovery solutions for $380 million in cash. The acquisition will boost Autonomy's software portfolio and is  part of Iron Mountain's strategic review of their digital business unit.  “Autonomy is a global leader in infrastructure software for the enterprise assuring that our customers will be well serviced and our employees will have greater opportunities." said Richard Reese, Iron Mountain’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "This was the right transaction at the right time for our customers, our employees and our shareholders.  As we move forward, Iron Mountain will continue to deliver technology services to solve our customers’ digital information management challenges through partnerships."

Juniper Unveils Junosphere Classroom. Juniper Networks (JNPR) announced Junosphere Classroom, a new cloud-based service designed to enable educational institutions, partners and customers to efficiently and cost-effectively educate networking students and professionals. Junosphere Classroom eliminates the need for a physical classroom and provides the ability to create and operate virtual Junos-based networks. "In Princeton University's Network Systems Group, whether we are teaching students or researching next-generation network systems, we rely on networking labs to provide practical applications," said Jennifer Rexford, Princeton University. "I am excited to see Juniper's Junosphere Classroom product, because it allows research and education with commercial networking technology in an on-demand, virtual environment without the expense and complexity of physical network labs."  In a separate release they announced that Queen Mary, University of London is using Juniper Junosphere Classroom to provide a cost-effective and scalable virtual network lab solution. Junosphere Classroom is available immediately.