Huawei acquired software technology from Ireland-based software-defined networking (SDN) specialist Amartus.
The move marks the China-based telecoms equipment manufacturer's first acquisition in Ireland, noted Clickonline. A figure for the deal was not disclosed.
In a release posted by Huawei on the Amartus web site, the Chinese company said the acquisition of the software assets would enable it to accelerate its own SDN roadmap and improve its competitiveness in the SDN services field.
The deal will also see some Amartus staff move over to Huawei's base in Ireland.
Michael Kearns, the CEO of Amartus said: "We are excited to be able to bring this innovative technology to Huawei at a time when the telecoms industry is experiencing unprecedented change, driven by software."
Indeed, SDN and network functions virtualisation (NFV) technologies are expected to play a leading role as operators seek to transform their networks through virtualisation and the growing use of software in place of hardware. They are also expected to underpin 5G.
Huawei is already heavily involved in research in the two fields. For example, in May it said it had launched what it claimed to be the world's first Internet of Things (IoT) platform based on SDN to encourage "traditional" businesses to develop IoT services. Dubbed the Agile IoT Solution, the platform consists of an IoT operating system called LiteOS, Agile IoT gateways and Huawei's Agile controller.
The company's investment in Ireland also highlights the growing importance of the European market for Huawei.
The company recently reaffirmed its commitment to the region, underlining its partnerships with operators, car manufacturers and others, and placing an emphasis on research and development to help Europe establish a leadership position in future technological developments in business and industry.
Speaking at the company's annual innovation day in Munich in June, William Xu, chief strategy marketing officer, said Europe is one of most important markets for Huawei outside China. The company has already established 19 joint innovation centres with its partners in the region, as well as 18 of its own R&D centres in eight countries.
For more:
- see this Huawei release
- see this Clickonline article
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