Wifi Revolution

Aruba Networks, Inc. has announced a definitive agreement to purchase AirWave (News - Alert) Wireless, Inc.

 

As per the agreement, Aruba will acquire AirWave in exchange for a total consideration of $37 million in stock and cash. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of Aruba's 2008 fiscal year and is subject to standard closing conditions.

 

AirWave will operate as a business unit of Aruba, chartered to enhance the AirWave Wireless Management Suite software and help maintain its position as one of the industry’s leading multi-vendor management solutions.

 

San Mateo, California-based AirWave is a provider of specialized tools to centrally manage large, multi-vendor wireless LAN, mesh, and WiMax networks. The acquisition is expected to provide Aruba with multi-vendor mobility management tools, as well as a vehicle for supporting its expanding technology partner eco-system.

 

Noting that customers have a vision of how they want to architect and deploy their networks, Dominic Orr, president and CEO at Aruba, added that those networks often include multiple vendors.

 

“Aruba believes that it is important to respect customers’ choices in these matters,” Orr said in a statement, “and this acquisition positions us as the first mobility vendor to move beyond simple interoperability and offer cross-vendor network management, too.”

 

Noting that whether a customer wants to preserve some existing assets, or stage a phased roll-out of new technologies like 802.11n, the management of multi-vendor legacy and new devices is imperative.

 

He added: “Analysts and customers alike agree that AirWave has the best solution on the market for these tasks, something we know well from years of working closely with the company.”

 

Orr also expressed his company’s full commitment to continue support for all of AirWave's products, and added, “We intend to expand the roster of supported third-party products based on market share and customer demand.”

 

“This acquisition adds depth to Aruba's feature set, as well as bringing with it a range of stand-alone software products that can be sold to a completely new base of prospects,” also commented Paul DeBeasi, senior analyst at Burton Group.

 

 

 

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