In an effort to expand the vertical market reach of its HP ProCurve business, Hewlett-Packard this week announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire wireless infrastructure provider Colubris Networks. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to its official announcement, HP plans to integrate the Colubris product line into the HP ProCurve Networking portfolio, which the company hopes will provide it better penetration into a range of vertical markets, including manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, and hospitality.
Colubris products, which facilitate wireless local area networks (WLANs), address a variety of enterprise communications needs, including robot and plant equipment connectivity, as well as wireless access, management, and security applications. The Colubris Intelligent Mobility platform includes multi-service access points and a wireless client bridge that converts legacy, non-wireless infrastructure devices into wireless-ready mobile equipment. Colubris’ portfolio also includes 802.11n-ready multi-service controllers that centrally manage the operation of a wireless network, as well as a network management system and visitor management software that allows authorized employees to create secured guest accounts on a wireless network.
“Colubris’ overlay architecture [will provide ProCurve customers] additional choices for unifying their wired and wireless communications,” said Marius Haas, senior vice president and general manager of HP ProCurve, in an e-mail exchange today with Managing Automation. “The strength of this acquisition extends HP ProCurve's products to not only address the integrated wired/wireless market, but now also [to] offer a solution to address opportunities in the wireless overlay market.”