Pliant products will help customers simplify the automation of network and IT infrastructure operations, IBM says. Credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock Looking to bolster its network and IT infrastructure capabilities, IBM said today it has acquired IT automation vendor Pliant for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2017, Pliant is known for its IT automation and orchestration software that works to streamline communications among platforms, services and applications and simplify network and IT operations. Pliant offers a library of out-of-the-box integrations with third-party vendors and can work with technologies that have an API or command line interface (CLI). IBM has partnered with Pliant in the past, integrating its workflow engine and other technologies in its Cloud Pak for Automation package. The idea behind that integration is to advance service delivery speed and ensure the network maintains the customer’s desired state, IBM stated. Pliant’s technology will let customers simplify automation with a tool that securely integrates services and applications within their network and infrastructure environments, according to Andrew Coward, IBM’s general manager of software defined networking, who wrote a blog about the acquisition. “Pliant adds essential capabilities to automate network and IT infrastructure tasks and abstract these functions to the application layer, enabling applications (and developers) maximum control for simplified provisioning and management of infrastructure directly within applications themselves,” Coward wrote. “These optimizations include infrastructure resource provisioning and management, traffic management and configuration management for both traditional network and IT infrastructure and public clouds.” The acquisition will extend IBM’s software portfolio, which today includes SevOne, Cloud Pak for Network Automation, Hybrid Cloud Mesh, Edge Application Manager and IBM NS1 Connect. IBM last month rolled out a new NS1 Connect service that uses DNS to help enterprise customers more effectively load balance highly distributed application and multicloud workloads. The IBM NS1 Connect Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) service ties together the company’s NS1 DNS technology with real-time user data in a package that promises to bring faster connectivity along with improved failover and resiliency. Related content news HPE Aruba adds genAI search tools to network management platform HPE Aruba is using proprietary LLMs to better understand questions posed in its Networking Central platform and generate more accurate, detailed responses. By Michael Cooney Mar 26, 2024 2 mins Generative AI Data Center Management Network Management Software brandpost Sponsored by HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect SD-WAN with SWG: building a SASE foundation By Gabriel Gomane Mar 25, 2024 7 mins SD-WAN feature 4 reasons to consider a network digital twin Today's network environments are too complex to track by purely manual efforts. With digital twin technology, IT teams can build a virtual model of the production network and use it to validate configurations, simulate changes, and streamline ma By Bob Violino Mar 25, 2024 9 mins IoT Security Network Management Software Network Security news Cisco taps former Microsoft, Broadcom exec to grow networking hardware portfolio Martin Lund will lead the group responsible for delivering the silicon, optics, and hardware for Cisco's core switching, routing, and wireless offerings. By Michael Cooney Mar 25, 2024 2 mins Careers Networking PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe