Software asset management and cloud management vendor Flexera is expanding its FinOps business with the acquisition of NetApp’s Spot FinOps platform.
By acquiring NetApp’s Spot platform, Flexera will strengthen its ability to optimize Kubernetes and further growth of its MSP business while delivering more capabilities for FinOps customers. Flexera provides hybrid IT asset management (ITAM) and FinOps services to customers using Al-enabled technologies that allow businesses to track and manage their software, SaaS applications, hardware, cloud instances, containers, and other business assets.
Under the deal, Flexera aims to improve cost management for multi-cloud environments and FinOps services, using Spot’s AI and machine learning (ML)-enabled technology and Flexera’s hybrid cloud expertise, the company stated.
By acquiring and integrating the Spot platform, Flexera is working to provide organizations with a broad view of their technology spending and risk across their internal and external IT ecosystems, which will make it easier and more efficient to manage costs.
The price tag for the deal is not being announced, according to the company, and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of any required regulatory approvals.
What MSPs Will Gain From the Acquisition
Jay Litkey, Flexera’s SVP of cloud and FinOps, told ChannelE2E that full product plan details are not yet available because the deal has not yet been closed. That said, Litkey added that “Spot’s AI/ML-enabled technology with Flexera’s hybrid cloud expertise will create a compelling and comprehensive FinOps offering, one that can address the expanding definition of FinOps to include SaaS management and IT asset management."
For MSPs, broad new business and sales opportunities are on the way, said Litkey. “This acquisition will be great for MSPs, especially those that want to take advantage of the opportunities in the FinOps space” through the addition of NetApp’s Spot and CloudCheckr products.
These incoming features and services “will empower MSPs to help customers address rising cloud costs, driven by trends such as AI applications and other resource-intensive workloads,” said Litkey. “This acquisition will advance our capabilities in cloud commitment management, container cost management, continuous Kubernetes optimization, MSP billing, discount management, and policy-based best practice checks for cost, compliance, and security.”
How One Flexera Partner Views the Acquisition
Chris Paraoan, global FinOps leader for Flexera partner NTT Data, told ChannelE2E that the integration of Spot’s cloud optimization technology with Flexera’s IT management services “has the potential to redefine how organizations achieve cost efficiency and scalability in the cloud. This acquisition underscores a shared commitment to empowering customers with smarter, automated, and more sustainable cloud solutions.”
The combined strengths of Flexera and Spot could open up opportunities for NTT DATA to enhance its FinOps Carbon Methodology, said Paraoan.
A Beneficial Acquisition for Customers, Analysts Say
Shelly Kramer, principal analyst at Kramer & Co., said that the need to optimize cloud costs is top of mind for business leaders today.
“Having visibility into what services are being used within the organization, as well as the costs associated with that in near real-time, is critically important,” she told ChannelE2E. “Flexera's recent revamping of and investment in its partner program was a strategic move — and designed to provide MSPs with additional capabilities in the FinOps market and overall IT asset management. Empowering MSPs with the capabilities to better serve their customers is a win across the board, and clearly what is afoot here.”
These moves “should be very compelling for MSPs as they work to meet customer demand for cost optimization and compete in an incredibly crowded marketplace — these additional capabilities can easily prove to be a competitive advantage.,” she said.
Another analyst, Jack E. Gold, president and principal at J.Gold Associates, LLC, said the deal gives Flexera capabilities to enhance its existing solutions set to include AI components while also allowing NetApp to focus on its core strengths and businesses rather than on industry-specific products like Spot, “which generally were tools rather than compete solutions. This gives them a way to monetize their work while exiting a peripheral business,” said Gold. “So this is a win-win for both.”
Dan Olds, principal analyst with Olds Research, said that the Spot acquisition will help Flexera meet some of the biggest demands of many customers.
“This move to acquire NetApp’s Spot expands Flexera’s ability to not just manage and monitor cloud usage for their FinOps customers, but also the ability to manage and, as importantly, optimize their cloud spending in near real-time,” he said. “This is a big deal because the rush to implement AI has many users looking to the cloud to start their AI initiatives.”
Being able to track, manage, and predict their cloud expenditures is a big complaint from many cloud customers, said Olds.
“Another problem is that it is hard for them to track cloud sprawl, which is when users fire up new cloud instances and then fail to shut them down or underutilize the compute in the instance,” he said. “With Spot, Flexera will give customers better visibility into their cloud costs and the ability to apply policies to make sure they get more bang for the buck with their cloud dollars.”
