Ericsson to acquire Fabrix Systems

Ericsson has entered into an agreement to acquire Fabrix Systems, a provider of cloud storage, computing and network delivery for video applications that today power some of the most advanced cable and telecom cloud DVR deployments.

Fabrix Systems further extends Ericsson’s leading TV and media portfolio with a cloud based scale out storage and computing platform focused on providing a simple, tightly integrated solution optimized for media storage, processing and delivery applications such as cloud DVR and video-on-demand (VOD) expansion. The approach takes advantage of the latest advances in clustered storage; grid computing; virtualisation and video processing technologies enabling a wide range of applications.

The acquisition enables new services and migration to cloud DVR deployments in all TV platforms including Ericsson MediaFirst and Ericsson Mediaroom. It also adds to Ericsson’s video-centric network and services capabilities to ensure that video can be managed, stored and delivered from the cloud to all TV Anywhere devices efficiently and with assured quality of experience.

As TV evolves ever more rapidly in the Networked Society, the rise of broadband connectivity, cloud services, and mobility will lead to a highly disruptive period in the entire media value chain. Ericsson’s annual ConsumerLab TV & Media Report shows consumers are rapidly embracing TV services that provide immediacy, ease of access, and personalized relevance. This acquisition accelerates Ericsson’s capability to meet consumers’ expectations in the way they want to enjoy TV today and into the future. It will enable TV service providers to migrate key consumer services and applications into the video cloud while at the same time ensuring the delivery of video efficiently and with assured quality of experience to TV Anywhere devices.

Per Borgklint, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Support Solutions at Ericsson says, “We are investing significantly across our TV platform and video-network areas to extend our market leadership position. Our Media Vision 2020 shows that traditional TV is shifting rapidly towards TV Anywhere and Ericsson’s leadership in broadcast, video and networks places us in a unique position to enable the most demanding customers to define and deliver the future of TV. Fabrix Systems further positions Ericsson to help customers deliver on the Networked Society’s global demand for personalized video content on any screen, at any time.”

Ram Ben-Yakir, CEO and co-founder of Fabrix Systems, says: “TV service providers, particularly those with IP delivery networks, are accelerating their network architecture investments in video optimization to deliver on the promise of TV Anywhere. Through worldwide deployments of our cloud storage and computing capabilities, we have enabled leading TV service providers to provide consumer services such as DVR through cloud-based deployments, lowering costs and enabling a more unified consumer experience in content on-demand.”

Fabrix Systems was founded in 2006 with offices in the US and Israel and brings a team of highly skilled cloud computing software engineers. The company has 103 employees. The purchase price for 100% of the shares in Fabrix Systems is USD 95 million.

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter, 2014, subject to customary closing conditions. Fabrix Systems will be incorporated into Business Unit Support Solutions.

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