Aruba Acquires Azalea Networks for Outdoor Mesh Networking

Aruba Networks will acquire Azalea Networks, a supplier of outdoor mesh networks based in China, for approximately $27 million in stock subject to certain adjustments and up to $13,500,000 in cash over two years.


Azalea Networks specializes in Wi-Fi mesh networks for outdoor industrial applications, such as the oil and gas, logistics, manufacturing, mining, petrochemical, public safety, smart grid, and transportation sectors. Its mesh technology allows it to also carry latency-sensitive video and voice traffic, with full fidelity, over long distances. The company's wireless systems were used during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, in which 600 mesh nodes provided voice, video, and Wi-Fi access over 19 square miles (50 square kilometers) of the city.


The acquisition includes an operations center in Beijing, staffed by world-class engineers, which will complement Aruba's existing R&D centers in Bangalore and Silicon Valley. To date Azalea has shipped over 25,000 mesh nodes worldwide.


Aruba said the acquisition extends its solution set to outdoor networks, gives it new sales channels in China and elsewhere, and enhances its engineering capabilities.


"This acquisition brings our customers and prospects innovative new solutions for real-time outdoor applications like video surveillance," said Hitesh Sheth, Aruba's Chief Operating Officer.
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