HP Enterprise Buying Silver Peak Strengthens Edge-to-Cloud Strategy, Says Analyst

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is buying Silver Peak for $925 million to extend its reach in the software defined wide area network (SD-WAN) space, said HPE Monday. The purchase will speed HPE's edge-to-cloud strategy, said CEO Antonio Neri. Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold said the purchase makes sense for HPE to play in the developing SD-WAN market, but called the price “high.” Cisco leads the SD-WAN market with about 17% share, said Leopold, but analysts don’t agree on rankings after that in what he called a fragmented and immature market that also includes Fortinet and Versa Networks. The deal is expected to close in fiscal Q4 ending Oct. 30. Shares closed 2% higher Monday at $9.44.