Hitesh Sheth, Aruba: Avenda Systems Bought for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Solutions

November 21, 2011

Aruba Networks has signed a definitive agreement to purchase privately-held Avenda Systems, a developer of network security solutions that securely connect users and their personal mobile devices to business networks. These solutions facilitate development and enforcement of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives in the workplace. Avenda’s solutions will enhance Aruba’s Mobile Virtual Enterprise (MOVE) architecture, making it simpler and safer for enterprises to transition to a new era of mobile computing and cloud-based applications.

Terms were not disclosed.

“This acquisition is fundamentally about arming our customers with a simple, cost-effective and device-agnostic approach to connecting and securing BYOD users,” said Hitesh Sheth, chief operating officer at Aruba. “Legacy networking vendors have struggled to deliver a purpose-built solution for today’s mobility age. Faced with the BYOD phenomenon, IT departments need to deliver policy and control to a wide range of mobile devices and PCs over their existing networks. Together, Aruba and Avenda are poised to deliver the ideal answer.”

Aruba’s context-aware MOVE architecture is designed to identify the user, as well as his or her device type, application, and location and apply access policies based on that information. This is critical for mobile networks in order to optimize security and network capacity. Avenda’s solutions will enhance Aruba’s context-based networking by applying those policies across the entire access network, independent of access type or vendor. They will also add device posture and deeper visibility into device profiles for a complete picture of the network connection. These are critical technologies as BYOD initiatives not only go mainstream, but also expand in scope.

Avenda also enables self-service provisioning of 802.1x and security credentials to a broad range of devices running iOS, Android, MacOS, or Windows. This enables users to quickly and securely connect a new mobile device to the network without engaging IT helpdesk resources. Avenda delivers this solution locally or as a cloud-based subscription service.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of Aruba’s fiscal year 2012, ending January 31, 2012, subject to standard closing conditions.