SUSE Acquires OpenStack IaaS and Cloud Foundry PaaS Talent and Technology Assets from HPE to Accelerate Growth and Entry into New Markets


Company’s latest acquisition advances SUSE’s strategy for enterprise-grade software-defined infrastructure and application platforms

NEW DELHI / BENGALURU, India – November 30, 2016 – SUSE®, has entered into an agreement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to acquire technology and talent that will expand SUSE’s OpenStack Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solution and accelerate SUSE’s entry into the growing Cloud Foundry Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) market. The acquired OpenStack assets will be integrated into SUSE OpenStack Cloud, and the acquired Cloud Foundry and PaaS assets will enable SUSE to bring to market a certified, enterprise-ready SUSE Cloud Foundry PaaS solution for all customers and partners in the SUSE ecosystem. The agreement includes HPE naming SUSE as its preferred open source partner for Linux, OpenStack and Cloud Foundry solutions. In addition, SUSE has increased engagement with the Cloud Foundry Foundation, becoming a platinum member and taking a seat on the Cloud Foundry Foundation board.

“The driving force behind this acquisition is SUSE’s commitment to providing open source software-defined infrastructure technologies that deliver enterprise value for our customers and partners,” said Nils Brauckmann, CEO of SUSE. “This also demonstrates how we’re building our business through a combination of organic growth and technology acquisition. Once again, this strategy sends a strong message to the market and the worldwide open source community that SUSE is a company on the move.”

Ashish Nadkarni, Program Director, Computing Platforms, for IDC, said, “This expanded partnership and transfer of technology assets has the potential to be a real win-win for SUSE and HPE, as well as customers of both companies. SUSE has proven time and again it can successfully work with its technology partners to help organizations glean maximum benefit from their investments in open source. SUSE is positioning itself very well as a high-growth company with the resources it needs to compete in key market segments.”

As part of the transaction, HPE has named SUSE as its preferred open source partner for Linux, OpenStack IaaS and Cloud Foundry PaaS. HPE’s choice of SUSE as its preferred open source partner further cements SUSE’s reputation for delivering high-quality, enterprise-grade open source solutions and services.

“We are evolving our investment strategy to focus on developing the next generation of hybrid cloud solutions, which combines HPE technology with a broad ecosystem of open source and partner technologies that support traditional and cloud native applications,” said Ric Lewis, SVP and GM, Software-Defined and Cloud Group, at HPE. “Customers tell us they need simple hybrid offerings. By partnering with SUSE, HPE will continue to provide high quality OpenStack and Cloud Foundry PaaS solutions that are simple to deploy into customer’s multi-cloud environments.”

Today’s news follows the recent announcement of a deeper engagement between SUSE and HPE to leverage SUSE’s OpenStack expertise for joint innovation around HPE’s Helion OpenStack and Helion Stackato PaaS solutions. The transaction announced today also includes a non-exclusive agreement under which HPE will OEM SUSE’s OpenStack IaaS and SUSE’s Cloud Foundry PaaS technology for use inside HPE’s Helion OpenStack and Helion Stackato solutions.

Abby Kearns, Executive Director of the Cloud Foundry Foundation, said, “SUSE has been a powerful player in the enterprise open source world for more than two decades, and I’m excited to see the impact that a SUSE Cloud Foundry distribution will have for enterprises and developers around the world. SUSE’s strategic vision for the convergence of Platform-as-a-Service and Container-as-a-Service technologies will also be a welcome addition to the strategic dialogue we have within the Cloud Foundry Foundation community.”

For additional perspective on this acquisition and what it means for SUSE and its customers, see www.suse.com/communities/blog/acquisition-news-suse-acquiring-iaas-and-paas-technology-and- talent-from-hpe. For more information about SUSE’s cloud offerings, visit www.suse.com/cloud.

About SUSE


SUSE, a pioneer in open source software, provides reliable, interoperable Linux, cloud infrastructure and storage solutions that give enterprises greater control and flexibility. More than 20 years of engineering excellence, exceptional service and an unrivaled partner ecosystem power the products and support that help our customers manage complexity, reduce cost, and confidently deliver mission-critical services. The lasting relationships we build allow us to adapt and deliver the smarter innovation they need to succeed – today and tomorrow. For more information, visit www.suse.com.