Oracle is buying Corente, maker of SDN (software-defined networking) technology for WANs (wide area networks), in a strike against competitors such as Cisco and IBM. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close early this year, weren't disclosed on Tuesday.
With Corente, Oracle will have a suite of network virtualization products that extends from LANs (local area networks) in corporate data centers to WANs, according to a statement.
"Oracle customers need networking solutions that span their data centers and global networks," Oracle Chief Corporate Architect Edward Screven said in a statement."Enterprises will be able to easily and securely deliver applications and cloud services to their globally distributed locations."
Companies want to deploy applications in a hybrid fashion, with on-premises implementations connected to cloud services, Oracle said in a FAQ document released Tuesday. This is difficult and expensive work that Corente's technology makes much easier and faster, according to Oracle.
Corente's products include Cloud Services Exchange, which "establishes trusted network services between public or private cloud data centers and any location over any IP network," according to the FAQ.
It also offers Services Gateway, a virtual appliance that creates secured endpoints for private networks.
Overall, the Corente deal reflects Oracle's efforts to position itself as a one-stop shop for cloud computing, particularly as a technology stack for cloud services vendors themselves.
Last year, Oracle signed a high-profile deal with Salesforce.com that will see the latter company, which is the industry's largest pure cloud software vendor, commit to using Oracle technology for the long term.
Corente's customers include British Telecom, and it has partnered with IBM, VMware, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Microsoft, according to its website.
Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris' email address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com
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