Red Hat Acquires eNovance for OpenStack Smarts

In a move that will strengthen Red Hat (RHT)'s ability to meet growing demand for OpenStack-based cloud computing within the enterprise, the company has announced a deal to acquire eNovance, a specialist in open source cloud deployment and management.

The acquisition, which Red Hat made public June 18, follows a partnership between eNovance and Red Hat that stretches back some time. The companies first collaborated in 2013 to provide deployment and integration services for Red Hat's OpenStack platform, and they worked together in 2014 on network functions virtualization (NFV) development for OpenStack.

Red Hat's acquisition of eNovance, which has offices in Paris, Montreal and India, "is aimed at meeting growing demand for enterprise OpenStack consulting, design and deployment" by leveraging eNovance's systems integration and engineering resources, according to the company.

eNovance was founded in 2008 and has been an important force in the open source cloud computing ecosystem since that time. It was among the top 10 contributors to OpenStack, and has supplied open source cloud deployment and management services to more than 150 global customers that include Alcatel-Lucent, AXA, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Cloudwatt and Ericsson.

Red Hat paid approximately €50 million in cash and €20 million in shares of Red Hat stock for the acquisition.