Juniper Networks Announces Close of Apstra Acquisition

Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR), a leader in secure, AI-driven networks, today announced that the company has finalized its acquisition of Apstra, a leader in intent-based networking and automated closed-loop assurance. The closing of the deal marks a meaningful step toward delivering an unmatched, experience-led portfolio for the data center across all customer segments – enterprise, service provider and cloud provider.

Apstra brings network automation based on an open, multivendor architecture to Juniper’s Data Center networking portfolio which has been recognized for the third year in a row as a leader in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Center and Cloud Networking. The combined experience of the two companies delivers a proven open, programmable and highly-scalable solution for next-generation data centers and cloud networks, providing customers the clearest and quickest path to automate the data center and introduce AI-driven operations.

The Apstra team is now part of Juniper’s Data Center business and Apstra CEO and co-founder, David Cheriton, joins Juniper as Chief Data Center Scientist.

“The Apstra acquisition is a significant milestone for our business that reinforces our commitment to transforming data center operations. Apstra’s focus on intent-based networking, closed-loop automation and fabric assurance is a perfect complement to Juniper’s award-winning hardware and software. Together, we can drive lasting customer value from design to deployment (Day 0 and 1) through everyday operations and assurance (Day 2 and beyond).”

- Mike Bushong, Vice President of Data Center Product Management, Juniper Networks

“Cloud – not just as a destination for workloads, but also as an operating model and set of technologies for intelligent automation – is driving profound change and disruption. Increasingly, organizations that own and operate their own data centers realize that their networks must be modernized, both architecturally and operationally, to support cloud-native applications and workloads. With the acquisition of Apstra, Juniper is responding to the urgent need for simplified, streamlined cloud-centric operations that help architects and network operators collaborate effectively to achieve greater agility throughout the network lifecycle.”