IIX Acquires IX Reach to Extend Network Footprint

Brings the software-defined interconnect company to 150 points of presence worldwide.

Mitch Wagner, Executive Editor, Light Reading

April 7, 2015

3 Min Read
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IIX, which provides software-defined interconnections between networks, said Tuesday it acquired IX Reach, a global network solutions provider and partner to leading Internet Exchange Points around the world.

The deal, closed last week, brings Console Inc. to 150 points of presence across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia -- IIX's 50 plus IX Reach's 100. The deal also extends IIX's software-defined network interconnection platform into more markets worldwide.

IIX uses its software platform to provide direct network connections between content providers, cloud application providers, enterprises and communications service providers.

The deal extends IIX's network footprint, and also extends the reach of IIX's network interconnect software platform, says CEO Al Burgio. "Coming together allows us to instantly achieve what would have taken us a couple of years to get to -- 150 points of presence," Burgio says. "We will inject our software platform to a much larger universe."

In addition to IX Reach's network, IIX also gets access to IX Reach's customers and partners, Burgio says, noting that when Google launched an interconnect service in November to bring enterprise customers closer to Google's cloud platform, it chose IX Reach as one of its few partners. (See Google Teams With Carriers for Cloud Interconnect.)

As part of the deal, Stephen Wilcox, IX Reach's founder and CEO, becomes IIX's president of EMEA and chief of global networks. Wilcox founded IX Reach in 2007; IIX is the younger company, founded in 2011.

The combined company will have just under 100 employees, with five offices in four countries: Manchester and London, UK; Toronto, Canada; Brisbane Australia; and headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

IIX also announced $20 million in non-equity funding from TriplePoint Capital. Previously, in July, the company announced $10.4 million Series A equity funding from New Enterprise Associates (NEA) . Total funding is $40 million. IIX expects a Series B round in a few months.

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Some of the TriplePoint funding will be used to pay for the IX Reach acquisition, but the vast majority is earmarked for organic network expansion, Burgio says.

IIX has been busy lately. Last week the company introduced an open source router to help companies migrate to the cloud. (See Open Source 'CloudRouter' Aims to Simplify Cloud Migration.)

And IIX technologists helped the OpenDaylight Project identify and patch a security vulnerability that had gone unfixed four months after it was detected. Those same technologists helped OpenDaylight established a security procedure to prevent similar-scale problems from happening again. (See OpenDaylight Patches 'Serious Vulnerability' – After Four Months and OpenDaylight Looks to Get Ahead on Security.)

— Mitch Wagner, Circle me on Google+ Follow me on TwitterVisit my LinkedIn profileFollow me on Facebook, West Coast Bureau Chief, Light Reading. Got a tip about SDN or NFV? Send it to [email protected].

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About the Author

Mitch Wagner

Executive Editor, Light Reading

San Diego-based Mitch Wagner is many things. As well as being "our guy" on the West Coast (of the US, not Scotland, or anywhere else with indifferent meteorological conditions), he's a husband (to his wife), dissatisfied Democrat, American (so he could be President some day), nonobservant Jew, and science fiction fan. Not necessarily in that order.

He's also one half of a special duo, along with Minnie, who is the co-habitor of the West Coast Bureau and Light Reading's primary chewer of sticks, though she is not the only one on the team who regularly munches on bark.

Wagner, whose previous positions include Editor-in-Chief at Internet Evolution and Executive Editor at InformationWeek, will be responsible for tracking and reporting on developments in Silicon Valley and other US West Coast hotspots of communications technology innovation.

Beats: Software-defined networking (SDN), network functions virtualization (NFV), IP networking, and colored foods (such as 'green rice').

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