Nicira's $1.26 Billion Path From Espionage to Acquisition - Businessweek

A big shift in the EMC/Cisco co-opetition continuum

"VMware is a natural suitor for this type of technology. After all, it popularized virtual—or software-based—servers and has been on a quest to handle most of the core data center functions in software. The company has done work on its own virtualized networking technology, while also now acquiring some cutting-edge help.
That said, VMware, which is 80 percent owned by EMC (EMC), has been a longtime ally of Cisco Systems (CSCO), the world’s largest networking company, and the deal could complicate that relationship. Nicira’s technology is seen as a threat to Cisco, which dominates the physical switch business."

Nicira's $1.26 Billion Path From Espionage to Acquisition - Businessweek