Cisco snaps up ClearAccess

network management company, in a deal that is expected to bolster Cisco's Prime service, Forbes reports.

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed; however, Cisco revealed that it is only interested in the software arm and not the hardware business, which will be spun off as SmartRG.

"The ClearAccess acquisition reinforces Cisco's commitment to service providers by accelerating software architectural advancements in mobility, cloud and managed devices, and video," eWeek quotes Jamie Lerner, VP and GM of service provider applications for Cisco's Network Management Technology Group, as saying.

"ClearAccess provides a critical technology that will advance Cisco's mission to offer service providers a complete set of tools to manage their networks, within the home and across any connected device, amid the ongoing proliferation in network traffic."

Cisco executives have been aggressive in offering service providers products and platforms to help them deal with the trends that are putting greater pressure on their networks, Tech Week Europe writes.

For example, the ClearAccess deal dovetails with Cisco's acquisition in May 2011 of newScale, which, among other things, helps service providers add self-service capabilities to their offerings.