Juniper is to acquire network planning and optimization software specialist Wandl, an existing partner, for $60 million, the companies announced late Monday.

Wandl has developed a number of software tools used to design, manage, optimize, and monitor IP/MPLS, optical, TDM, and legacy data networks, including its MIND (Multilayer IP-over-transport Network Design) product for packet/optical networks.

Wandl has about 200 customers (telcos, enterprises, government organizations), including BT Group plc, Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. (NYSE: CHT), Telefónica SA, Telecom Italia (TIM) , and Verizon Communications Inc..

The Wandl team will remain in New Jersey and work closely with Juniper's Junos innovation center (aka OpenLab). In 2011, Wandl enabled the integration of its software with the virtual Junosphere networking lab. (See this Wandl announcement and Juniper Opens Its Junosphere Lab.)

Why this matters
The ability to provide multivendor, multiprotocol, multi-technology network management capabilities is becoming increasingly important to major vendors as network operators seek greater efficiencies and greater options, especially as they consider the introduction of software-defined networking (SDN) technology into their networks.

And as SDN creeps into wide area networks, the ability to manage a mix of traditional, hardware-based network elements and software-defined elements is going to be key in the coming years, so the combination of its Contrail SDN solution with enhanced management and optimization capabilities from Wandl looks like a sensible move by Juniper.

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— Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading