Juniper Networks to acquire 128 Technology for AI Driven WANs

Juniper Networks announced its intent to acquire 128 Technology for $450 million in cash and equity.

The acquisition will transform Network-Centric SD-WANs tech to User-Centric AI-Driven WANs tech for the industry. For Juniper, the acquisition will enhance its AI-driven enterprise network portfolio. 

The 128 Technology’s Session Smart networking will be integrated with Juniper’s Juniper's campus and branch solutions driven by Mist AI, notes the announcement.

CEO of Juniper Networks, Rami Rahim, said, "The acquisition of 128 Technology will enable Juniper to accelerate in a key area where we are seeing enormous success – the AI-driven enterprise. Both companies share a common vision of putting user experiences above all else and leveraging automation with proactive actions to simplify IT operations. With 128 Technology, we are adding a highly differentiated technology into our award-winning arsenal of campus and branch solutions driven by Mist AI to deliver even more customer value while further accelerating Juniper’s continued growth in the enterprise."

Co-Founder and CEO of 128 Technology, Andy Ory, said, "128 Technology has brought to market a groundbreaking session-based routing solution that gives rise to experience-based networking. This allows our customers to realign their network with the requirements of a digital future that includes cloud, mobility and virtualization. The combination of our Session Smart Router with Juniper’s AI-driven enterprise portfolio, expansive channel and world-class support will dramatically accelerate our vision to transform networking and make a big impact on a very large, yet still highly under-served, WAN-Edge market.”

Juniper has also planned further integrations with Juniper’s WAN Assurance software-driven by Mist AI. Thus preparing its customers with more advanced AI-driven WAN capabilities from initial configuration to ongoing AIOps. These capabilities include customizable service levels (down to the individual user), proactive anomaly detection, fault isolation with recommended corrective actions, self-driving network operations, and AI-driven support.

Previously, Juniper acquired Mist Systems for USD $405 million. Then acquisition enabled Juniper with software-defined and highly differentiated solutions by extending its cloud-based management and end-to-end AI-driven visibility (“AI for IT”) across the end-to-end enterprise network (from access to the WAN).

The acquisition of 128 Technology is expected to close in Juniper Networks’ fiscal fourth quarter, notes the announcement.