Comcast grabs SD-WAN specialist Masergy

Comcast is certainly serious about boosting its corporate networking business. Or the cord cutters are really causing some damage. Maybe both. Either way, Comcast Business just announced plans to acquire privately-held Masergy Communications, an SD-WAN and cloud-based security specialist.

Comcast is a public company, but Masergy is not, so terms of the deal were not disclosed. Masergy was acquired by private equity firm Berkshire Partners in 2016.

Comcast currently has its own SD-WAN offering through a partnership with Versa Networks, but it’s geared toward small businesses. Nabbing Masergy gives Comcast greater access to the enterprise. Masergy specializes in managed SD-WAN and secure communications, as well as cloud-based unified communications solutions. The company says it has more than 1,400 customers in almost 100 countries.

Masergy’s product offerings include managed SD-WAN, unified communications as a Service (UCaaS), call center as a service (CCaaS) and managed security solutions. Its SD-WAN and secure access service edge (SASE) services are offered through Fortinet, while its cloud access security broker (CASB) is provided by Bitglass and its UCaaS is offered in partnership with Cisco Webex.

Most important for Comcast, though, is that Masergy has a mature channel program it has been building for its 20 years of operation. Having Masergy is a significant leap for Comcast’s business ambitions.

This gives Comcast a boost in its drive to compete with Verizon and AT&T as well, not to mention helps diversify its business at a time when consumers are ditching cable TV.