Network solutions vendor Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Netrounds. This programmable, software-based active test and service assurance platform, suitable for fixed and mobile networks for the entire service lifecycle, would enhance Juniper’s automated WAN solutions to further simplify operations for service providers.
Founded in 2007, Netrounds actively confirms that network services work as configured and continue to work during their entire lifecycle. Netrounds’ vendor-agnostic approach would bridge the missing link between services and networks. It would provide assurance of the quality of service experience from a customer perspective, with insight to where problems originated when things go wrong.
“End-user expectations for a consistently high quality of experience for services delivered over IP networks in the cloud era are extremely high, and the onset of 5G will only accelerate this. Service providers are increasingly looking to differentiate themselves by looking beyond offering basic connectivity and focusing on the quality assurance of their services,” said Manoj Leelanivas, Chief Product Officer, Juniper Networks. “Today’s announcement and plan to bring Netrounds into Juniper will fully automate the complexities of testing and actively monitoring those customer service experiences at scale, a crucial step to staying competitive in today’s dynamic market.”
The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of this acquisition were not disclosed.
5G, Edge, SD-WAN
Netrounds enables active testing and monitoring that’s orchestrated directly into software-defined virtual services. You may think of use cases such as testing a 5G network slice before deployment. Or analyzing the impacts of a new cloud service being configured on edge infrastructure. Or troubleshooting and resolving performance degradation issues on an SD-WAN.
“Today, end users are often the first to discover service quality problems, as traditional assurance solutions primarily focus on passive device health instead of service quality,” said Mats Nordlund, CEO and co-founder of Netrounds. “Combined with Juniper Networks’ sophisticated network automation solutions, service and cloud providers are now able to rapidly deliver software-defined network services with guaranteed end-to-end service quality. For our customers, this is a key success factor when rolling out solutions in dynamic environments built on 5G network slicing, Kubernetes, SD-WAN and hybrid cloud. We are thrilled to be joining Juniper to provide higher levels of automated assurance to complex networks.”
