Ericsson to purchase Fabrix Systems, expand software media focus

by Dan Meyer September 15, 2014

written by Dan Meyer September 15, 2014

Ericsson continues to broaden its portfolio into the software space, announcing late last week plans to acquire Fabrix Systems, which offers cloud storage, computing and network delivery for video applications. The platform is currently used in set-top boxes and digital video recorders.

Ericsson said the deal, which was valued at $95 million, would extend its television and media portfolio “with a cloud-based scale out storage and computing platform focused on providing a simple, tightly integrated solution optimized for media storage, processing and delivery applications such as cloud DVR and video-on-demand expansion.” The company added that the move will take advantage of various technologies, including clustered storage, grid computing, virtualization and video processing technologies.

Fabrix’s platform is set to be included in Ericsson’s MediaFirst and Mediaroom offerings, with the company explaining the move will allow TV service providers to migrate consumer services and applications into a video cloud. Video services are often seen as the main congestion generator for telecom networks as consumers increasingly turn to streaming high-bandwidth content.

“We are investing significantly across our TV platform and video-network areas to extend our market leadership position,” explained Per Borgklint, SVP and head of Ericsson’s Business Unit Support Solutions. “Our Media Vision 2020 shows that traditional TV is shifting rapidly towards TV Anywhere and Ericsson’s leadership in broadcast, video and networks places us in a unique position to enable the most demanding customers to define and deliver the future of TV.”

Fabrix, which has offices in the United States and Israel, will see its 103 employees folded into Ericsson’s Business Unit Support Solutions division.

Ericsson last year purchased Microsoft’s Mediaroom for an undisclosed amount, in a move to position the company in the carrier IPTV space. Earlier this year Ericsson purchased Azuki Systems, which enables live and on-demand content delivery, as well as the ability to tie content to metadata and to social connections.

Ulf Ewaldsson, SVP and CTO at Ericsson, earlier this year talked with RCR Wireless News about the distinction between “mediacoms” and telecoms.