What is being announced?
IBM has announced plans to acquire NS1, a leading provider of Managed DNS and network management software for enterprises worldwide.
What was the reasoning behind the acquisition?
With the planned acquisition of NS1, IBM will gain new DNS and network traffic observability capabilities designed to provide businesses with enhanced control and richer traffic performance for their applications running across any cloud. These core networking capabilities are critical for network managers as they look to ensure performance and gain more granular control of the network across the highly distributed environments they face today. Adding NS1 to IBM’s software portfolio will accelerate innovation and grow its suite of software networking solutions to help enterprises tackle the multi-cloud networking challenge and take back control of their networks in the hybrid cloud era.
What is IBM’s plan for NS1?
NS1 will join the IBM Software team as part of the network automation portfolio, which also includes solutions like IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation for zero-touch network automation; IBM Edge Application Manager for managing devices and applications at the edge; and IBM SevOne Network Performance Management for comprehensive network performance management.
As part of this transaction, NetBox Labs - a new business and brand recently born from NS1’s investment in Open Source NetBox and Orb - will separate from NS1 and become an independent company. Approximately 15 people at NS1 who have been focused on the NetBox and Orb businesses will transition to NetBox Labs and continue to service NS1 customers who purchased NetBox Cloud.
When is the acquisition expected to close?
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals.
What changes can I expect to see?
After closing, NS1 will continue to operate as an IBM company. The NS1 team that you work with day-to-day will remain part of NS1 as an IBM company and our best in class customer success team will continue to support our customers. NS1 was acquired not only for its great technology and innovation, but also its people who develop, support and enable it. We do not anticipate a need to enter into new customer contracts.
Where should customers go for more information or with questions regarding this announcement?
For additional details on the planned acquisition, please visit the announcement blog in the IBM Newsroom, or reach out to your Account Executive or Customer Success Manager within NS1.