Network supplier Ciena announced a $400 million cash and stock deal to acquire software specialist Cyan, marking yet another move by traditional hardware vendors to shore up their NFV/SDN credentials as mobile and fixed operators seek to become more agile in service provisioning.

“Ciena is transforming networks by applying web-scale technologies for delivering greater efficiency, network automation and agility while driving the industry toward an open ecosystem,” said Gary Smith, Ciena CEO. “The addition of Cyan accelerates the availability of a complete solution for our customers to deliver virtualised networks and services on-demand.”

The deal, should it gain approval from Cyan shareholders, will see Ciena acquire Cyan’s software-defined networking (SDN), network function virtualisation (NFV) and metro packet-optical products. This portfolio, said Ciena, would complement its own network products.

Mark Floyd, Cyan CEO, can also see benefits of combining software and hardware expertise from the two companies.

“Together, we will provide our customers with the technologies they demand for a software-controlled operational model, orchestrating services on top of a scalable network, with the ability to rapidly create revenue streams in the new virtualised, on-demand world,” he said. “This combination enables greater monetisation for network operators through more efficient utilisation of network assets and faster time-to-market with differentiated and profitable services.”

The deal has already received support from Cyan stockholders that control more than 40 per cent of its outstanding shares. Assuming it receives enough backing from remaining Cyan shareholders, the deal will close in Ciena’s fiscal Q4 (three months end-October).