One way to asses what test and measurement companies think is coming next in terms of needed technologies and capabilities is to look at the ways in which they have been expanding their portfolios with new automation and analytics offerings. They are also increasingly partnering with hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft or Google Cloud to offer their testing and service assurance tools and analytics to the customers of those companies. You can also gain insights into their outlook on future needs by looking at their acquisitions in the past few years–or in some cases, which companies have acquired networking testing, assurance and analytics companies in order to bolster their own capabilities in this area.
Here are some of the noteworthy acquisitions in the past several years that help to signal what areas that companies which are focused on network testing, measurement and observability think will be key capabilities which they did not already have as part of their portfolio. While some of the acquisitions are very recent or have yet to close, purchases that were made two to three years ago have in most cases already been integrated into current solutions.
-In April of this year, Emerson announced its acquisition of NI, saying that the purchase of the company (in which it already held a 2% stake) would diversify and extend its portfolio to include test and measurement automation. NI itself has been working for a number of years to strengthen its software and automation focus, including through its 2020 acquisition of OptimalPlus, which specialized in aata analytics software for the semiconductor, automotive and electronics industries. “While new technologies including ubiquitous sensing capabilities, artificial intelligence and machine learning are being used to enable digital transformation initiatives, customers need integrated systems and software platforms to connect and harness the value of the overwhelming amount of data these technologies produce,” NI said at the time of the OptimalPlus acquisition.
-Keysight Technologies has privately held Scalable Network Technologies,which specializes in large-scale modeling and simulation of communications networks and for cybersecurity assessment and training. Keysight said the purchase would enable it to deliver more software-centric, digital twin solutions; similarly, it expects to have soon wrap up a billion-dollar share buyout of ESI Group, which focuses on real-time digital twins for aerospace and automotive. The ESI Group acquisition “accelerates our strategy of providing software-centric solutions with virtual prototyping and advanced simulation capabilities,” said Satish Dhanasekaran, Keysight’s president and CEO.
In 2020, Keysight also purchased Eggplant, a software test automation platform provider that uses AI and analytics to automate test creation and test execution and test “any technology on any device, operating system or browser at any layer, from the user interface (UI) to application programming interfaces (APIs) to the database.”
-Viavi Solutions made a 2020 purchase of French company Expandium, which focused on core network monitoring and assurance solutions powered by big data, as it focused on its ability to provide “seamless, virtualized visibility for real intelligence and insight to support even the most aggressive virtualization initiatives,” as CTO Sameh Yamany said at the time.
-Cisco has been on a buying spree this year, with a particular focus on telecom and mobile network assurance and analytics. Cisco is in the midst of closing acquisitions of network performance monitoring company Accedian, touting Accedian’s “microsecond level sensors and the powerful Skylight Analytics platform” that, combined with Cisco’s existing offerings, will enable the company to “bring transformational solutions to our service provider customers”; SamKnows, a privately held broadband network monitoring company in the U.K.; as well as Code BGP, a Border Gateway Protocol monitoring specialist that boosts the capabilities of Cisco’s ThousandEyes assurance portfolio. In August, Cisco announced that it intends to acquire cloud native mobile services platform provider Working Group 2, saying that it will be able to simplify the mobile network architecture as well as boost service edge deployments. Cisco also is acquiring two other companies that focus on network threat detection and response, including Armorblox, which focuses on the use of Large Language Models and natural language understanding in cybersecurity.
-It’s also worth noting that as the amount of data transported and produced by networks is rising, quantum computing has been the focus of a couple of acquisitions by T&M companies, including Rohde & Schwarz’s purchase of Zurich Instruments and Keysight Technologies’ pick-up of Quantum Benchmark, a software company that focused on identifying and reducing errors in quantum computing.
Looking for more insights on the state of the landscape in network testing and monitoring, including use of network analytics, AI and ML? Check out the on-demand RCR webinar “Test, Measure, Monitor, Learn: How operators can make sense of data in a new era of observability”, featuring Verizon and Viavi Solutions. An accompanying editorial report is coming soon!
