Cisco buys newScale for cloud services front-end

Cisco has made a move to buy newScale, a privately held software development whose platform is aimed at helping IT professionals more quickly provision cloud-based services and deploy them on their own.

The newScale platform is essentially a storefront for buying cloud apps—some observers have likened it to an app store for purchasing and managing cloud-based IT services. Cisco already had been incorporating the newScale software in its Intelligent Automation for Cloud solution through an OEM agreement.

In a Cisco blog post, Cisco executive Tere Bracco describes how the newScale acquisition fits in with Cisco’s cloud strategy and what it can do for customers.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. NewScale has more than 2 million users worldwide, including AT&T, American Express Co and Siemens AG, according to the company.

More rapid self-provisioning is an important topic for IT pros exploring cloud-based solutions, and the acquisition of newScale should strengthen Cisco’s perception among its customers as a company that can provide an assist and remove some of the complexity to provisioning and deployment of cloud-based services—all of which drives more web traffic, which of course potentially helps Cisco sell more gear.