NetApp agreed to acquire Akorri Networks in January 2011 to add performance and capacity analytics for virtualized, shared IT environments. The deal brought Akorri’s BalancePoint software into NetApp’s management portfolio, with the stated aim of helping customers spot performance bottlenecks and plan storage capacity across applications, servers, networks, and storage.
What happened in the NetApp–Akorri deal?
NetApp announced a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Akorri Networks on January 12, 2011. NetApp announced completion on February 1, while its fiscal 2011 Form 10-K records January 31, 2011, as the closing date. The distinction is between the accounting close and the later public announcement.
NetApp described the transaction in its completion announcement as an all-cash deal worth approximately $60 million. Its fiscal 2011 SEC filing recorded a purchase price of $62.3 million, including $7.9 million held in escrow. These figures come from different company disclosures and should not be treated as identical: NetApp’s completion announcement and its fiscal 2011 Form 10-K.
What did Akorri add to NetApp’s lineup?
Akorri specialized in performance and capacity analytics for virtualized, shared IT infrastructure. Its BalancePoint software was described as helping organizations identify performance bottlenecks and improve storage capacity planning. That mattered in environments where applications, servers, networks, and storage resources are interdependent: a performance problem can be difficult to locate if administrators see only one part of the infrastructure.
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NetApp said Akorri extended its OnCommand management software suite with analytics spanning those infrastructure layers. The completion announcement also said BalancePoint complemented NetApp SANscreen. These are NetApp’s descriptions of the products’ fit at the time of the acquisition, not evidence of their present-day availability or support.
Why was the acquisition aimed at virtualized environments?
Virtualization lets multiple workloads share infrastructure, which can make it harder to connect an application slowdown to the resource causing it or to predict when storage capacity will become inadequate. NetApp positioned Akorri’s analytics as a way to provide a broader view of performance and capacity needs across shared systems.
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Manish Goel, then NetApp’s executive vice president of Product Operations, said: “The ability to accurately predict and manage performance and capacity requirements has been a common obstacle for many customers wanting to transition to a virtualized environment.” The statement reflects NetApp’s rationale for the deal, rather than an independent evaluation of BalancePoint.
What did NetApp say about Akorri’s growth?
In its January 12, 2011, acquisition announcement, NetApp said Akorri’s customer base had grown by more than 100% in 2010. That is a company-reported figure; the announcement does not present it as an independently measured market statistic. NetApp’s announcement also described the acquisition’s intended contribution to its management portfolio.
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What is known about BalancePoint today?
The acquisition announcements and NetApp’s fiscal 2011 filing establish BalancePoint’s role in the deal in 2011. They do not establish whether the software remains available or supported today, so the acquisition should be understood as a historical portfolio expansion, not as confirmation of a current product offering.
For contemporaneous coverage, Computer Weekly reported on the acquisition on January 14, 2011.
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