Cisco has announced its intent to acquire privately held Cariden Technologies, a California-based supplier of network planning, design and traffic management for telecommunications service providers. Cisco's acquisition of Cariden will allow providers to enhance the visibility, programmability and efficiency of their converged networks, while improving service velocity. Cariden's capacity planning and management tools for IP/MPLS networks will be integrated into Cisco's Service Provider Networking Group to enable multilayer modelling and optimisation of optical transport and IP/MPLS networks. Cariden's products and technology will advance Cisco's nLight technology for IP and optical convergence. The acquisition also supports the company's Open Network Environment (ONE) strategy by providing sophisticated WAN orchestration capabilities that will allow providers to improve both the programmability of their networks and the utilisation of existing network assets across the IP and optical transport layers. Upon the close of the acquisition, Cariden employees will be integrated into Cisco's Service Provider Networking Group. Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately USD 141 million in cash and retention-based incentives in exchange for all shares of Cariden. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2013.
