Juniper Networks today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ankeena Networks, a privately-held provider of new media infrastructure technology. Ankeena's solution delivers online media content at massive scale, while providing a television-like viewing experience for media with dramatically reduced delivery costs. In alignment with Juniper's vision for the "New Network," Juniper will integrate Ankeena's technology into its solutions portfolio to address the rising demand for rich media content while significantly improving the economics of content delivery for service providers. The financial impact of this transaction is expected to be immaterial with consideration at closing of less than $100 million. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
As an addition to the Junos Ready Software business group, Juniper will leverage the Ankeena software to offer high-performance content delivery networking and "3 Screen" media delivery solutions for the next-generation service provider network, capitalizing on the explosive growth of video traffic on both mobile and fixed networks worldwide.
"Juniper's acquisition of Ankeena reflects our commitment to transforming the experience and economics of networking -- in this case by delivering an enhanced TV-like user experience of both fixed and mobile video traffic, while enabling crucial TCO reductions for operators," said Manoj Leelanivas, executive vice president and general manager, Junos Ready Software at Juniper Networks. "The combination of Ankeena's new media infrastructure solution with Juniper's high-performance networking platforms will take our existing partnership to the next level to meet the bandwidth and cost of delivery challenges facing service providers as IP video continues to accelerate. We are excited about Ankeena's technology and its talented team playing important roles in the future of Juniper Networks."
Ankeena's Media Flow Director ensures that users receive a smooth-viewing experience regardless of the viewing device and varying network conditions. Ankeena's comprehensive support for different adaptive streaming technologies allows viewers to enjoy watching videos without any buffering or stuttering by dynamically detecting the available bandwidth and varying the delivery bit-rate. While providing a high-quality video output, Ankeena's Media Optimized multi-tier caching technology also provides up to a 10-to-1 reduction in the number of servers needed to deliver the same amount of media, with a similar reduction in transit network and media delivery costs.
Ankeena, located in Santa Clara, Calif., was founded in 2008 as Nokeena Networks by President and CEO Rajan Raghavan, CTO and Strategy Officer Prabakar Sundarrajan, Chief Architect Jaspal Kohli, and Vice President of Engineering Kumar Narayanan. Ankeena's senior management team has agreed to join Juniper following the acquisition and will assume leadership roles within the Junos Ready Software business group.
"By joining with Juniper Networks, we will fully realize our corporate mission of driving the convergence between traditional entertainment media and the Internet," said Rajan Raghavan, CEO of Ankeena Networks. "The combination of Juniper's high-performance networking products with Junos Software and Ankeena's highly scalable media delivery engine will result in solutions that accelerate the pace of innovation for online delivery of all content types."
Ankeena was recently named a "2010 Hot Company" by Network Products Guide, an industry-leading information technology research and advisory guide. FierceOnlineVideo also recently named Ankeena as a winner of its "Fierce 15" award, a recognition bestowed on the most innovative emerging companies in the video industry. Ankeena was incubated by Clearstone ventures and backed by investors including Trinity Ventures and Mayfield Fund.
For more information about today's news, please refer to the following resources:
About Juniper Networks
From devices to data centers, from consumers to the cloud, Juniper Networks delivers innovative software, silicon and systems that transform the experience and economics of networking. The company serves more than 30,000 customers and partners worldwide, and generated more than $3 billion in revenue over the last year. Additional information can be found at www.juniper.net.
Juniper Networks and Junos are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The Juniper Networks and Junos logos are trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.