VMware To Acquire Certain IT Management Products and Software Expertise from EMC Corporation
Acquisition Expands VMware vCenter Management Product Family; Addresses Critical Management Needs as Customers Advance on Journey to Cloud Computing
PALO ALTO, CA and HOPKINTON, MA – February 25, 2010 – VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop through the data center and to the cloud, and EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) -- the world leader in information infrastructure solutions -- today announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement for VMware to acquire certain software products and expertise from EMC’s Ionix IT management business, including solutions aimed at delivering improved management and deployment of servers and applications in a virtualized data center.
“Customers are increasingly leveraging virtualization as the foundation for modern IT architectures and their path to Cloud Computing,” said Paul Maritz, president and chief executive officer, VMware. “Essential to this evolution is the ability to provide visibility and compliance from virtualized applications down to the underlying physical infrastructure. The acquisition of these Ionix products and expertise promises to further establish VMware vCenter as the next generation management platform for private cloud infrastructures.”
The all-cash transaction of up to $200 million is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2010, and is not expected to have a material impact on either EMC’s or VMware’s previous expectations for 2010.
Under the terms of the agreement, VMware will acquire all technology and intellectual property of FastScale, Application Discovery Manager, Server Configuration Manager and Service Manager and will maintain engineering, marketing, sales and support operations in the United States, Europe, Israel, India and Australia. As part of the agreement, EMC will retain the Ionix brand and have full reseller rights to continue to offer customers the products acquired by VMware.
“EMC Ionix has focused on helping customers simplify and automate IT management in order to accelerate their journey to the private cloud,” said Pat Gelsinger, President and COO, Information Infrastructure Products, EMC Corporation. “The storage and network infrastructure is a critical building block for realizing the benefits of a private cloud. EMC will continue to focus on ground-breaking Ionix management capabilities for the information infrastructure – including network, storage, and Vblock solutions. By focusing EMC efforts on these areas and partnering with VMware to advance their vCenter management strategy, we can jointly help our mutual customers more rapidly realize the full benefits of cloud computing.”
The acquired EMC products and expertise will complement existing VMware development efforts and expand the VMware vCenter product family with capabilities to meet stringent compliance standards in a dynamic virtualized environment. This new capability will provide a holistic view of configuration compliance of complete IT services from underlying physical assets to applications. VMware plans to further optimize the acquired products for dynamic, VMware vSphere-based cloud infrastructure, to deliver unparalleled visibility, control and simplicity of enterprise IT management.
The VMware vCenter product family will continue to focus on reducing the operational burden and cost of IT management while protecting customers’ investments in existing management solutions. VMware will continue to work closely with key management partners, including EMC, to provide integrated solutions and interoperability between the entire VMware vCenter product family and management partner solutions in support of heterogeneous environments.
About EMC
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world’s leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information. Information about EMC’s products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.
About VMware
VMware delivers solutions for business infrastructure virtualization that enable IT organizations to energize businesses of all sizes. With the industry leading virtualization platform – VMware vSphere™ -- customers rely on VMware to reduce capital and operating expenses, improve agility, ensure business continuity, strengthen security and go green. With 2009 revenues of $2 billion, more than 170,000 customers and 25,000 partners, VMware is the leader in virtualization which consistently ranks as a top priority among CIOs. VMware is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.
EMC and Ionix are either registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. VMware, VMware vCenter and VMware vSphere are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. The use of the word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.
Forward Looking Statement
Statements made in this press release which are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to the safe harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate, but are not limited, to, expectations for the consummation of the acquisition of certain EMC Ionix assets by VMware, the impact of the transaction on EMC and VMware 2010 financial results, customer use of virtualization and VMware vCenter as a foundation and platform for cloud computing, the integration of Ionix products with existing VMware products and development efforts and future plans for Ionix and VMware vSphere-based products. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) the impact of macroeconomic conditions on demand for new and innovative IT solutions, (ii) our customers' ability to transition to and implement new technologies, (iii) the uncertainty of customer acceptance of emerging technology initiatives; (iv) rapid technological and market changes in virtualization software and cloud-based IT solutions; (v) VMware’s ability to successfully integrate Ionix products and businesses into its current products and businesses; and (vi) satisfaction of closing conditions for the transaction. These forward looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and changes in condition, significance, value and effect as well as other risks detailed in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 10-K and current reports on Form 8-K that VMware and EMC may file from time to time. VMware and EMC disclaim any obligation, except as required by law, to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.
# # #