VMware added to the long list company acquisitions when it revealed its plan to acquire Arkin Net in June 2016. VMware didn't disclose any financial details about the acquisition of Arkin, based in Santa Clara, California, but it seemed to send a clear message about what it is focusing heavily on.
The deal makes sense for VMware, especially since Arkin Net's co-founder Shiv Agarwal was a former product manager at the software giant. The acquisition appeared to send a clear message that VMware is greatly invested in NSX. We know that VMware is counting on NSX to be a main player, especially since vSphere is on the decline. The number of data centers that need to be virtualized is dwindling but there are plenty of companies that will try to make their data center more cloud-like. That is where NSX comes into play.
Arkin Net looks like it will be a boost to the software-defined data center and can help users expand their use of NSX microsegmentation. Arkin gathers NSX data that can provide a visual depiction of those communications.
SearchVMware asked its advisory board members for their thoughts on VMware's acquisition of Arkin Net. We asked what they thought VMware is trying to accomplish with this purchase and if it fills any holes or gaps that existed with VMware before.
Alastair Cooke
I hope that we see Arkin Net integrated into the full VMware SDDC to provide better ad-hoc visibility of the connections and dependencies between objects.
Alastair Cooke
The Arkin Net purchase suggests that VMware's existing management tools aren't satisfying customers with complex SDDC deployments. My expectation is that VMware is still learning what it means when infrastructure is deployed programmatically and at a large scale; in particular, what it means for the operations teams which must look after the complex environments that are deployed. I suspect that customers want more flexible visibility to the multiple layers of the deployed solution. VMware's press release links the acquisition to NSX and customers who cannot see the details that they require.
I hope that we see Arkin Net integrated into the full VMware SDDC to provide better ad-hoc visibility of the connections and dependencies between objects. As SDDC deployments become more complex it will be critical that operations teams can find objects fast.
Paul Korzeniowski
Virtualization has spread from the server throughout the data center. Consequently, businesses need tools that apply virtualization to other types of system. NSX provides VMware with the ability to virtualize the networking layer. Once a new device is virtualized, customers require a different offering to manage -- and ideally automate -- that element.
Arkin Net provided management functions for NSX. By acquiring this company, VMware offers customers one more piece needed in the virtualized -- software-defined -- data center.
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