company news about Cisco is buying network monitoring, analysis firm Accedian Networks

Looking to improve network visibility, Cisco plans to buy Accedian Networks, makers of software for monitoring and analyzing network performance.

Founded 2004, Accecian sells Skylight, a platform that diagnoses problems and recommends remediation to fix them. The package is aimed at mobile backhaul, data-center services, service providers, and cloud-connectivity customers.

The company, which competes with players including IBM, SolarWinds, Progress, NetScout, and Kentik, is already a Cisco business partner. Cisco offers Skylight for near-real-time network performance monitoring, analytics, and assurance within its Cisco Crosswork Network Automation platform for service providers.

The benefit for enterprises is faster service turn-up based on SLAs and better quality of experience thanks to real-time measurement of key performance indicators, Cisco says. Skylight can pinpoint service-degradation issues and automate actions to maintain service quality, the company says. Within Crosswork Network Automation, Skylight provides sensors and an orchestrator in addition to analytics.

“With Accedian’s sophisticated network performance and user experience monitoring capabilities for Communication Service Provider customers, Cisco has a unique opportunity to link that data into Cisco ThousandEyes’ cloud for end-to-end network assurance,” wrote Kevin Wollenweber, senior vice president and general manager with Cisco’s Data Center and Provider Connectivity group in a blog announcing the acquisition.

“Accedian’s service assurance portfolio of microsecond-level sensors and the powerful Skylight Analytics platform, coupled with Cisco’s robust portfolio, will enable Cisco to bring transformational solutions to our service provider customers,” Wollenweber wrote.

The Accedian team will become part of Cisco’s Data Center and Provider Connectivity organization and the acquisition is expected to close by the first quarter of Cisco’s FY24, which starts August 1.

The proposed Accedian buy is Cisco’s fifth acquisition this year, and the price of the deal is undisclosed. Other buys include Armorblox for large language models, Smartlook for mobile-application monitoring, Lightspin for cloud security, and Valtix for cloud network security.