VMware, Inc., a provider of virtualization solutions, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held SpringSource, an enterprise and Web application development and management vendor. As a result of the acquisition, VMware and SpringSource are targeting cloud environments - and intend to deliver new solutions that enable companies to more efficiently build, run and manage applications within both internal and external cloud architectures.
Until now, VMware has focused on applying virtualization to infrastructure. The SpringSource acquisition will extend VMware's capabilities into the application development space, according to Paul Maritz, president and chief executive officer of VMware. "It's about making virtualization more application aware," he said in a conference call. "This will allow us to speak to some of the existing applications. But even more importantly, it allows us to speak to new applications that are being written in the future. We believe with this acquisition, we can provide that bridge."
SpringSource is the innovator and driving force behind some of the most popular and fastest growing open source developer communities, application frameworks, runtimes, and management tools. SpringSource also has established a presence in a majority of the Global 2000 companies. VMware says it will continue to support SpringSource's principles, which are based on the open source model, and ensure the interoperability of SpringSource software with a wide variety of middleware software.
Together, VMware and SpringSource plan to build integrated Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions that can be hosted at customer data centers or at cloud service providers. These solutions will enable customers to rapidly build new enterprise and web applications and run and manage these applications in the same dynamic, scalable and cost-efficient vSphere-based internal or external clouds that can also host and manage their existing applications, providing an evolutionary path to the future.
"The rationale behind it is essentially the great genius of virtualization is we can work with applications unmodified, the existing base of applications," says Maritz. "And we can do a remarkable set of things with those applications, by essentially encapsulating them and sliding new functionality underneath them. But to go to where we need to get to in the long run, which is to really make the deployment, and running and management of applications truly autonomic-to just load the applications into the cloud, dial in the service level agreement that you're willing to pay for, and have the cloud essentially take that package and run it automagically for you. We need to have more deeper understanding of the application context. And this acquisition gives us that opportunity."
VMware says it will acquire SpringSource for approximately $362 million in cash and equity. The acquisition has been approved by SpringSource's stockholders and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2009, subject to customary closing conditions.
For more information, visit the VMware site.