VMware said Tuesday that it plans to acquire SaltStack, makers of event-driven automation software, to bolster its cloud portfolio. Financial terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.
VMware announced the acquisition alongside a bevy of platform and product updates timed to the company’s virtual VMworld event this week.
SaltStack is the company behind the hugely popular Salt open-source software, which is used by IT admins to handle a range of remote execution tasks. By acquiring SaltStack, VMware said it will be able to extend its automation capabilities beyond infrastructure to the software and packages inside virtual machines and containers.
The company also intends to use SaltStack to enhance its vRealize cloud management software suite with end-to-end automation and integrated configuration management.
“These software configuration management capabilities will help us address the full spectrum of customers’ automation needs and further strengthen customers’ ability to automate the deployment and configuration of infrastructure platforms both on-premises and in the cloud with VMware vRealize Automation,” said Ajay Singh, SVP and GM of VMware’s cloud management business unit. “Additionally, SaltStack offers robust configuration compliance and vulnerability management capabilities, which will enable VMware vRealize to help customers address their SecOps practices, after close.”
VMware said it’s committed to preserving SaltStack’s open source community after the deal closes, with Singh noting that VMware will fully support SaltStack’s work on open source projects. Beyond automation and configuration, SaltStack is also known for its SecOps suite, which aims to help IT and security teams to find and remediate compliance issues and vulnerabilities.