CA (NASDAQ: CA) is bolstering its position in the emerging cloud computing space this week by acquiring some assets from cloud computing player Cassatt.
CA recently expanded its network performance management products into the virtual data center space to better address cloud services. And more recently, Verizon Business (NYSE: VZ) announced a new Asset Assurance service based in part on those products.
The Cassatt deal is further evidence of M&A activity heating up in the cloud computing space as interest in its potential swells. Just last week, VMWare (NYSE: VMW), one of the most prominent names in the virtual data center space, spent $20 million on a 5% stake in IT infrastructure services firm Terremark (NASDAQGM: TMRK), which VMWare had previously hailed as its top service provider customer.
Cassatt, with its policy-based data center automation software, had been sought as a partner by equipment vendors hoping to move into the cloud computing space, such as Force10 Networks, which unveiled new data center virtualization tools earlier this year. But in recent weeks Cassatt, a six-year-old startup that had raised nearly $100 million in funding, reported being close to collapse and seeking buyers. The company’s CEO attributed its woes to being ahead of its time in a paralyzed economy.