QOS’s Edge, SD-WAN portfolio enhances Zayo’s fiber infrastructure services
Boulder, CO-based Zayo Group Holdings on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Irvine, CA-based QOS Networks from majority owner M/C Partners. The firms did not disclose terms. Zayo’s acquisition of QOS bolsters its SD-WAN and intelligent edge management portfolio as enterprises, carriers and hyperscalers increasingly need to securely navigate and orchestrate multi-cloud environments.
“Zayo’s extensive fiber network, coupled with its optical and packet capabilities, is uniquely positioned to power the growth of the network edge and the rapid adoption of 5G and private wireless. These technologies are the critical foundation for distributed, multi-cloud capabilities,” said Zayo in a statement.
Zayo operates fiber infrastructure throughout North America and in Western Europe. Last August, Zayo announced work on a major deployment of 31 400G long-haul routes across North America and Western Europe, with up to 800G transmission available in some areas. Infrastructure investment firms Digital Colony and the EQT Infrastructure IV fund acquired Zayo in 2019 in a $14.3 billion deal.
Dish tapped Zayo — along with Everstream, Segra and Uniti — for 5G transport. Zayo counts a 126,000-mile network in North America and Europe. The company serves wireless and wireline carriers, media, tech, content, finance, healthcare and other large enterprises.
Managed services play
QOS Networks is a managed network services provider. It delivers SD-WAN, security, edge analytics, network automation and management and monitoring solutions. The company was founded in 2012. Its solutions include VMWare VeloCloud, Versa and Palo Alto Prisma. The company counts over 45,000 global SD-WAN edge device deployments to large enterprises.
Combined, Zayo and QOS see benefits for its hyperscaler, enterprise and carrier customers alike.
“The combination of Zayo and QOS provides enterprise CIOs high quality network services with global reach, real-time control and visibility and consistent security at every network endpoint,” said Zayo in a statement.
“Combining our end-to-end enterprise SD-WAN solutions and white glove services with Zayo’s best-in-class fiber and network expertise will allow us to unlock unique value for our customers in the software-defined layer,” said Frank Cittandino, CEO of QOS Networks.
Following the acquisition, Cittandino reports to Zayo’s Chief Product and Technology Officer Brian Lillie, as SVP, edge services. Zayo will retain the QOS brand as part of the deal.
“We are extremely well-positioned to be a leading provider of networking for the evolving edge at all layers — fiber, optical and packet — and for all players — enterprises, hyperscalers and carriers,” said Lillie.
