Is network management growing? SolarWinds picks up Kiwi Enterprises
SolarWinds, an Austin, Texas network management company that claims to be rapidly growing at the expense of larger rivals, has picked up the assets of a smaller company in the same business, New Zealand-based Kiwi Enterprises, for an undisclosed sum.
Despite a ten-year history, SolarWinds got its big start two years ago with an investment from Bain Capital and Insight Venture Partners, according to chief product strategist Kenny Van Zant. Earlier this year, the company filed for an IPO, although it has delayed going public because of the recession.
Despite holding off on the IPO, Van Zant says the company’s business of selling network management software against competing products like HP’s Openview and IBM’s Tivoli is booming. By the end of 2007, SolarWind’s revenue was over $60 million with high operating margins, and Van Zant says it’s now over $75 million a year.
