Oracle to Buy Carrier SDN Startup Corente

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Technology giant Oracle is acquiring Corente, a carrier software-defined networking startup, which Oracle expects to be able to leverage in SDN-enabled cloud deployments that virtualize both the enterprise data center LAN and the WAN.

SDN is a growing trend that allows more software control over networking equipment, generally allowing for more flexible and robust networking capabilities. It is also becoming a sought-after feature for cloud environments with complex networking needs and ones that span different geographies.

Corente’s software-defined WAN virtualization platform allows customers to securely and simply provision and manage global private networks connecting to any site, helping accelerate cloud deployment, according to Oracle chief corporate architect Edward Screven.

“Oracle customers need networking solutions that span their data centers and global networks,” Screven said in a statement. “By combining Oracle’s technology portfolio with Corente’s industry leading platform extending software-defined networking to global networks, enterprises will be able to easily and securely deliver applications and cloud services to their globally distributed locations.”

The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

As investor news site Seekeing Alpha points out, Cisco and Juniper have acquired carrier SDN startups, and carrier SDN adoption is expected to take off in 2016-17 given that SDN can leverage commodity hardware. This move towards commodity hardware could negatively affect the sales of traditional carrier switch and router providers who don’t adapt.

Rather than give up on the telecom market, Oracle is upping its efforts to remain relevant 2013 with the purchases in 2013 of session border control technology provider Acme Packet and network signaling, policy control and data management software provider Tekelec.

These purchases in the past 12 months align with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s statement in March 2013: “Our ambition is to be the primary technology provider to the telecommunications industry.”

This article was first published at: http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/oracle-buy-carrier-sdn-startup-corente