McData broadens range with double acquisition

Storage networking vendor McData has taken steps to broaden its range of offerings through the acquisition of Fibre Channel switch startup Sanera Systems and SAN extension vendor Nishan Systems.

Additionally, McData has also entered into an agreement with Aarohi Communications, who will provide technology for McData's switch platforms.

Richard Villars, vice president of storage systems, IDC, said of McData's moves in the market: "In an era of storage and server consolidation, enterprises are rethinking their storage infrastructures. They want more robust storage capabilities that they can consistently leverage across their enterprise. Today's moves are a clear sign that McData intends to play an expanded role in helping enterprises reach this goal."

The Sanera acquisition, which cost McData US$102 million in cash, will broaden the vendor's product offerings from an entry-level 4-port Spherion 4300 switch up to Sanera's 256 non-blocking port intelligent core switch, while the Nishan acquisition, which cost McData US$83 million in cash, will accelerate McData's delivery of inter-networking capabilities that scale data centre storage networks and extend storage network benefits across the enterprise.

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