How Recent M&As Can Affect Your IT

October 16, 2024

Big changes are happening in the networking industry, with major players recently making significant acquisitions. From January to December 2023, US mergers and acquisitions (M&As) hit a staggering $1.5 trillion. The numbers tell the story: This is a market in motion.

These aggressive moves are reshaping the market for the networking industry, and the effects could go either way. The consolidation might lead to stronger, more competitive players with streamlined operations, or it could stifle innovation and limit customers’ choices.

These M&As could make a real difference to your operations and your business overall. We’ll explore what’s shifting and how you can find opportunities in the changes ahead.

Key Considerations

Keep your eye on what actually works for you. The market is overflowing with marketing dollars, so don’t get lost in the noise.

Start with the most critical aspect: Security. Make sure the new company doesn’t loosen its grip on cyber resilience, especially if your data is sensitive. 

Secondly, examine their service integration. Changes in how things are delivered or bundled could disrupt your network. Keep an eye on their technology stack, too, because if they make adjustments—you might have to as well.

Support and communication won’t be the same during a merger. Stay in the loop with new contact points to avoid downtime. And keep in mind that mergers can shake up morale. Ensure your team informed to maintain stability.

A merger could bring in new features that make a real difference to your infrastructure. These added capabilities or services might not have been on the table before, and they could give your network the boost it needs.

Lastly, review those contracts and SLAs—terms might change. It’s an opportune chance to renegotiate if something doesn’t fit your organization. Stay ahead of these issues, and you’ll keep your network running smoothly through the transition.

Major Acquisitions

Recent major acquisitions can have significant impacts on your organization. That’s why we believe it’s critical to examine the changes your network provider is going through—and how they’re going to affect your operations.

VMware by Broadcom

This acquisition is going to shake things up, and if you’re a VMware customer, your IT strategy might feel it. Broadcom’s $69 billion move is big, and it’s all about building a multicloud strategy.

Broadcom is stepping away from virtual desktop infrastructure, dropping products like VMware Horizon. CEO Hock Tan made it official in December 2023—Broadcom is getting out of end-user computing. Big changes are ahead.

VMware Cloud Foundation is now Broadcom’s flagship hybrid cloud solution, built to help businesses run key applications with better security, resilience, and efficiency. Broadcom is making a shift toward subscription-based licensing for VMware, and they’re lowering the price of VMware Cloud Foundation to push customers toward annual plans. It’s a move that’s likely to catch on.

Make sure you review your current licensing model and look at how these new plans will impact your IT strategy. It could shift your long-term cost structure in ways you don’t expect.

Cisco Acquired Splunk

This acquisition changes the game, giving organizations unmatched visibility and insights across their digital footprint. With the Splunk deal now complete, Broadcom is set to deliver on this promise.

Cisco and Splunk bring cost savings by cutting down on multiple-point products and delivering better business results. Their platform boosts observability, giving you top-tier digital experiences across hybrid, multi-cloud setups. 

You’re also promised stronger security, with all-around threat detection and visibility across your organization. With Cisco’s networking power in the mix, you can use AI confidently, backed by a resilient network designed for peak performance.

Customers might benefit from more competition and lower prices. But with too much consolidation, things could get uncertain and complicated. Companies will be looking to build their own security and observability platforms, which means more mergers and partnerships are on the horizon. This merger could just be the start of a wave of deals across the industry.

The market will keep shifting, especially in observability and security. Standards like Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, and the Open Cybersecurity Framework are the benchmarks—use them to guide your strategy and pick your vendors wisely.

T-Mobile and KKR’s Acquisition of Metronet

T-Mobile, the leader in 5G and fastest-growing fixed wireless broadband provider in the US, has announced a definitive agreement to form a joint venture with global investment firm KKR to acquire Metronet. This includes its broadband infrastructure, rapidly expanding residential fiber operations, and current customer base.

The new offerings will tackle the growing need for faster, more reliable broadband. This will help them expand the range of services to meet the demand for better, faster connectivity.

Commvault Acquires Appranix and Clumio

Commvault, a leader in cyber resilience and data protection, made the move to bolster its hybrid cloud offerings by acquiring Appranix and Clumio

Clumio’s cloud-native efficiency and Appranix’s automated recovery give Commvault a serious boost in cloud resilience. Commvault’s strength has always been protecting data across multiple clouds, but Clumio adds AWS-specific expertise with serverless computing through AWS Lambda. 

As an enterprise client, you will experience faster recovery and a more integrated resilience strategy. Even if this acquisition doesn’t drastically expand Commvault’s customer base, it will deepen its capabilities where it matters most.

HPE Acquires Morpheus Data

HPE is taking steps to support AI workloads with its acquisition of Morpheus Data

Striving to elevate hybrid and multi-cloud environment management, HPE’s decision is part of a bigger plan—and the technology will surely find a new home in HPE’s GreenLake platform to simplify cloud operations.

Competitors like Dell might start looking for new options as the future of Morpheus customers who compete with HPE remains uncertain. Morpheus will still be available as a standalone product, separate from GreenLake, though pricing isn’t set yet. HPE plans to offer jobs to most of Morpheus’ team, keeping things steady. 

While there’s worry that HPE could cut off support for non-HPE customers, it’s unlikely, given that Morpheus works across a wide range of platforms, fitting into HPE’s hybrid cloud vision.

Conclusion

Broadcom buying VMware, Cisco merging with Splunk, and T-Mobile’s joint venture for Metronet are all signs of the consolidation sweeping the industry. Companies like Commvault and HPE are pushing forward with cloud and AI strategies, heating up the competition. 

For your business, the focus needs to be on security, service integration, and support as these shifts play out. Success depends on finding the right balance between innovation and customer needs.

The mergers of 2023/2024 have changed the game, and more shifts are coming. Make sure you keep up with contracts, monitor new technology, and adapt accordingly.

Subscribe to our weekly news digest.

Join now and become a part of our fast-growing community.

Invalid Email Address
Thanks for Subscribing!
We'll be sending you our best soon!
Something went wrong, please try again later