Cisco Data Virtualization (formerly Composite Software)

About Cisco Data Virtualization (formerly Composite Software)

Composite Software, Inc. operated as a market leader in data virtualization software and services before its acquisition by Cisco. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company specialized in providing software technology that connects disparate data sources across a network, presenting them as if they reside in a single location. This technology offers a simplified and optimized logical view of data, enabling organizations to make more informed, real-time decisions.

On June 20, 2013, Cisco announced its intent to acquire Composite Software for approximately $180 million in cash and retention-based incentives. The acquisition was completed on July 30, 2013, at which point Composite Software's employees joined the Cisco services team. The strategic acquisition was aimed at expanding Cisco's portfolio of Smart Services and extending its next-generation services platform by integrating data and infrastructure. This move was part of Cisco's broader strategy to create a next-generation IT model by combining its networking expertise and Unified Computing System with Composite's software, thereby providing customers with instant access to data for enhanced business intelligence. The technology was a key component in making enterprises 'IoE Ready' (Internet of Everything Ready).

The core of the offering is the Cisco Information Server, a Java-based server that non-invasively accesses, federates, and abstracts complex data from various sources. These sources include traditional databases, big data repositories, cloud environments, and enterprise applications. The platform transforms this data into easy-to-understand business views and delivers the results as data services or relational views to applications for business intelligence, analytics, and dashboards. This process of data virtualization allows users to query data in real-time without the need for data replication, which can be a slow and expensive process. The key benefits include faster time-to-solution, reduced costs compared to physical data warehousing, and increased agility for IT to respond to business changes. After the acquisition, the technology continued to be developed, with major updates such as the Cisco Information Server (CIS) 7.0. In October 2017, TIBCO Software announced it was acquiring the data virtualization business from Cisco, continuing the technology's journey under new ownership.