12/14/2017
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`Here's Why Some Partners Think Cisco Should Acquire Hyper-Converged Startup Springpath Instead Of Partnering With It
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`Published on CRN (http://www.crn.com)
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`Home > Here's Why Some Partners Think Cisco Should Acquire Hyper-Converged Startup Springpath Instead Of Partnering With It
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`Here's Why Some Partners Think Cisco Should Acquire Hyper-Converged Startup Springpath Instead Of
`Partnering With It [1]
`
`byKevin McLaughlin [2] on February 29, 2016, 5:18 pm EST
`With Cisco Systems possibly poised to unveil its long awaited hyper-convergence offering [3] this
`week at its annual partner conference, some of its partners believe the vendor will acquire
`Springpath, a startup founded by former VMware storage engineers.
`
`As CRN first reported in January [4], Cisco has inked an OEM agreement with Springpath and also
`made an undisclosed investment in the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based startup. Cisco is using Springpath's
`technology in a new hyper-convergence offering that runs on its UCS servers, according to CRN's
`sources.
`
`Sources have told CRN that Cisco also has the option of acquiring Springpath based on revenue
`results. Springpath, which exited stealth in early 2015, certified its software to run on Cisco UCS
`servers last June.
`
`[The 'Big Boys' Came To Play: HPE, Cisco Shake Up Hyper-Converged Landscape]
`
`Adding fuel to the speculative fires in the channel, Rob Soderbery, Cisco's senior vice president of
`enterprise products and solutions, has been working with Springpath as a board observer since
`November, according to his LinkedIn profile [5].
`A Cisco spokesman referred CRN's questions about Soderbery's board role to Springpath, which
`didn't respond to a request for comment.
`
`Springpath develops software that enables compute, storage, networking and virtualization to run
`on x86 server hardware. Co-founders Mallik Mahalingam and Krishna Yadappanavar were
`previously engineers at VMware, helping to create technologies like VMFS (Virtual Machine File
`System) and VXLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN).
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`Here's Why Some Partners Think Cisco Should Acquire Hyper-Converged Startup Springpath Instead Of Partnering With It
`12/14/2017
`Three partners told CRN they believe San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco will acquire Springpath to lock
`up the technology and prevent one of its rivals from buying it. If Cisco doesn't announce the move at
`its partner conference this week in San Diego, it will likely pull the trigger sometime in the near term,
`the partners speculated.
`
`"I think working with Springpath is a good move for Cisco, but if it's an OEM relationship instead of
`an acquisition, then it could spell trouble for them down the road," said one of the partners, who
`didn't want to be named because the partnership is confidential.
`
`Buying Springpath would enable Cisco to avoid a repeat of the scenario that played out in 2012,
`when it was reportedly close to acquiring coveted software-defined networking startup Nicira when
`VMware swooped in at the last minute with a better offer and closed a deal.
`
`Cisco is coming late to market where startups Nutanix and SimpliVity are grabbing the lion's share
`of attention. Yet Springpath is a good option for customers that want to build their own hyper-
`converged infrastructure, according to one Cisco partner.
`
`"The customer can choose their own hardware, in whatever CPU/RAM/Network/storage mix they
`want. They can also choose a hypervisor -- or not choose and run more than one," said the partner,
`who didn't want to be named to protect his vendor relationships.
`
`Another Cisco partner said the networking vendor's late entry isn't a concern given the level of
`sophistication of current hyper-convergence offerings.
`
`"I don’t think Cisco has any reason to be intimidated by the state of the technology available in the
`converged market today. Most are just a [VMware] VSAN type storage on top of a hardware
`platform," said the partner.
`
`Cisco's annual partner conference would provide an ideal opportunity for the vendor to unveil the
`Springpath-based hyper-convergence offering, one longtime Cisco partner told CRN. But such a
`move, he said, would also come with more than its fair share of competitive ramifications.
`
`"This will certainly be one of the most visible -- and touchy -- announcements since Chuck Robbins
`took the helm [as Cisco CEO last July]," the partner said.
`
`Source URL: http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/300079861/heres-why-some-partners-think-cisco-should-acquire-
`hyper-converged-startup-springpath-instead-of-partnering-with-it.htm
`
`Links
`[1] http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/300079861/heres-why-some-partners-think-cisco-should-acquire-hyper-
`converged-startup-springpath-instead-of-partnering-with-it.htm
`[2] http://www.crn.com/author/kevin-mclaughlin
`[3] http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/300079781/sources-cisco-to-unveil-hyper-converged-offering-aims-to-undercut-
`nutanix-simplivity-on-pricing.htm
`[4] http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/300079256/sources-cisco-inks-oem-deal-with-startup-springpath-preps-ucs-
`hyper-converged-appliance.htm
`[5] https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertsoderbery
`
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`HPE Ex. 2006
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