Ekinops, a leading supplier of telecommunications solutions for telecom operators and enterprises, is announcing the acquisition of the start-up SixSq, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider for Edge Computing.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, SixSq has developed an ultra-innovative solution allowing businesses to take full advantage of the added value of Edge Computing. Complementing Cloud computing, the SixSq solution enables smart data processing directly on the company’s site.
The SixSq range comprises the Nuvla marketplace, which hosts all types of business applications in container format, and the NuvlaEdge software, which converts enterprise routers or other open hardware platforms capable of processing data, into smart edge systems.
The Nuvla marketplace makes available to all devices running the NuvlaEdge software deployed in the field inside enterprises, all the applications it hosts in the Cloud, similar to the App Store or Play Store for consumers. This way, SixSq makes it possible for all software vendors to reach the enterprise market and sell their innovative software applications.
With this acquisition, Ekinops is stepping up its strategy to provide greater added value to its customers. “After enriching OneOS6 middleware with SD-WAN and SBC solutions, it is now possible to extend it to all types of applications through the integration of NuvlaEdge into OneOS6 and access to the Nuvla marketplace. The possibilities are infinite!” said Didier Brédy, CEO of Ekinops. “We are looking forward to presenting this opportunity to our telecom operator customers. It is a new way for them to monetize their presence at enterprise branch sites through our OneOS6 routers.”
“Our solution, already productized, offers a unique value proposition to various verticals such as industry, mass retail and telecoms. For us, joining Ekinops is an enormous accelerator,” said Marc-Elian Bégin, co-founder and CEO of SixSq. “Thanks to Ekinops’ support, we now have the firepower to rapidly move into the B2B market focusing on large accounts and telecom operators. We have already identified opportunities. The market has been waiting for this type of solution, so the timing is perfect,” he said.
A key step in the development of Ekinops’ software business
The alliance is a major step forward in Ekinops upscale and software business development strategy.
Ekinops and SixSq solutions are already integrated through the Ekinops virtualization offering (OneOS6-LIM). Next, the goal is to integrate NuvlaEdge software directly into OneOS6 middleware. All OneOS6 routers will be able to run “container” business applications, downloaded via the Nuvla marketplace. Combined with its new 5G routers, Ekinops will make artificial intelligence available to all companies and use cases, particularly for Internet of Things, Industry 4.0 and smart retail.
SixSq is expected to contribute €1m to €2m to revenue in 2022 from its software business. The company is targeting triple-digit growth in the coming years.
In three years’ time, Ekinops aims to generate at least 20% to 30% of its revenue through software and services (vs. 12% in H1 2021).
Transaction details
The transaction consists of the acquisition by Ekinops of 100% of the capital of SixSq SA, which will be consolidated by the Group from November 1, 2021.
This transaction also includes financing from Ekinops to SixSq which will allow the company to significantly increase its sales operation and R&D activities at its Geneva headquarters.
The transaction will have a non-material impact on Ekinops’ 2021 financial statements.
About Edge Computing
With the advent of our “all digital” society, the amount of data generated by individuals, employees, machines and everyday devices is experiencing exponential growth. These extensive data sets also need to be processed in near real time. Cloud computing, long used to store and process data, is no longer able to address all our needs. We need to process video in real time, take immediate decisions and process data with a lot less latency. And these requirements apply to numerous fields, including healthcare, smart cities and retail.
Supplementing the capacities of the Cloud, Edge Computing provides users with computing power as close as possible to data sources. This is true for points of presence of telecom operators closest to users (known as “near Edge Computing”) and user sites (“Far Edge Computing”, enabled by SixSq’s technology).
Edge Computing has a host of advantages, including:
- Decision-making proximity: data processing latency is substantially reduced as round trips from and to the Cloud are no longer necessary.
- Reduced carbon footprint: storing all the raw data of a company in the Cloud weighs heavily on its carbon footprint. Processing data locally reduces the volume of data stored in the Cloud by a factor of 10 to 100.
- Security and confidentiality: for sensitive data, Edge Computing helps to safeguard confiden-tiality by keeping the data on site and rendering the data anonymous.
- Economies of scale: while uploading data to the Cloud is not expensive, storing, processing and recovering the data is – even though 90% of raw data are not worth that cost. With Edge Computing, businesses can significantly reduce their Cloud computing bills.
Resources
Your contacts
SixSq
Louise Merifield
Operations Manager and Co-founder
+41 77 44 68 170
merifield@sixsq.com
Ekinops
- Ekinops contact:
Didier Brédy
Chairman and CEO
contact@ekinops.com -
Investors
Mathieu Omnes
Investor relations
+33 1 53 67 36 92
momnes@actus.fr - Press
Amaury Dugast
Press relations
+33 1 53 67 36 74
adugast@actus.fr
About SixSq
SixSq’s active participation in numerous international edge and cloud initiatives has solidified its reputa-tion as a leading European cloud and edge computing expert. The team, which consists of highly skilled software engineers, developers and system administrators, is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and em-braces the Swiss ideals of excellence, innovation and precision. The company provides the edge-to-cloud management platform Nuvla, which allows enterprises to deploy a secure and comprehensive edge and cloud strategy, including a marketplace of business applications. The NuvlaEdge software turns any x86 or ARM hardware platform into a smart edge device which customers use to deploy container-ised retail, manufacturing, smart city and transport applications.
For more information, visit: sixsq.com
About Ekinops
Ekinops is a leading provider of open, trusted and innovative network connectivity solutions to service providers around the world. Our programmable and highly scalable solutions enable the fast, flexible, and cost-effective deployment of new services for both high-speed, high-capacity optical transport as well as virtualization-enabled managed enterprise services. Our product portfolio consists of three highly complementary product and service sets: EKINOPS360, OneAccess and Compose.
- EKINOPS360 provides optical transport solutions for metro, regional and long-distance networks with WDM for high-capacity point-to-point, ring, and optical mesh architectures, and OTN for improved bandwidth utilization and efficient multi-service aggregation.
- OneAccess offers a wide choice of physical and virtualized deployment options for Layer 2 and Layer 3 access network functions.
- Compose supports service providers in making their networks software-defined with a variety of software management tools and services, including the scalable SD-WAN Xpress and SixSq Edge-to-Cloud solutions.
As service providers embrace SDN and NFV deployment models, Ekinops enables future-proofed deployment today, enabling operators to seamlessly migrate to an open, virtualized delivery model at a time of their choosing. A global organization, Ekinops (EKI) - a public company traded on the Euronext Paris exchange operates on four continents.
Name : Ekinops
ISIN Code : FR0011466069
Mnemonic code : EKI
Number of shares : 26,162,922
For more information, visit: ekinops.com.
Contact
Louise Merifield
Co-founder & Operations Manager
+41 77 44 68 170
merifield@sixsq.com
About SixSq
SixSq is a leader in edge computing B2B platform as a service. The team is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and embraces the Swiss ideals of excellence, innovation and precision. Nuvla.io, the company’s B2B SaaS edge-to-cloud management platform and marketplace, allows customers to deploy a secure and comprehensive edge and cloud strategy, while avoiding lock-in. The NuvlaEdge software turns any x86 or ARM hardware platform into a smart edge device connected to Nuvla.io to deploy applications in a range of sectors. The result is a secure edge-to-cloud solution that is application-centric, hardware-agnostic, cloud-neutral and container-native.
SixSq is part of the Ekinops Group, a leading network equipment and solutions provider.
For more information, visit: sixsq.com.
About Ekinops
Ekinops is a leading provider of open, trusted and innovative network connectivity solutions to service providers around the world. Our programmable and highly scalable solutions enable the fast, flexible, and cost-effective deployment of new services for both high-speed, high-capacity optical transport as well as virtualization-enabled managed enterprise services.
Our product portfolio consists of three highly complementary product and service sets: EKINOPS360, OneAccess and Compose.
EKINOPS360 provides optical transport solutions for metro, regional and long-distance networks with WDM for high- capacity point-to-point, ring, and optical mesh architectures, and OTN for improved bandwidth utilization and efficient multi-service aggregation.
OneAccess offers a wide choice of physical and virtualized deployment options for Layer 2 and Layer 3 access network functions.
Compose supports service providers in making their networks software-defined with a variety of software management tools and services, including the scalable SD-WAN Xpress and SixSq Edge-to-Cloud solutions.
As service providers embrace SDN and NFV deployment models, Ekinops enables future-proofed deployment today, enabling operators to seamlessly migrate to an open, virtualized delivery model at a time of their choosing.
A global organization, Ekinops (EKI) - a public company traded on the Euronext Paris exchange operates on four continents.
Name: Ekinops
ISIN code: FR0011466069
Ticker: EKI
Total number of shares: 26,648,049
For more information, visit: ekinops.com.
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