CenturyLink Inc. ( CTL ), the third largest wireline service provider in the U.S., is currently on a buying spree. Yesterday, the company announced the acquisition of Cognilytics, a leading provider of advanced predictive analytics and Big Data solutions to mid-sized and large enterprises.
However, the financial terms of the deal have been kept under wraps. Cognilytics specialises in implementing Big Data technologies such as Hadoop and SAP HANA.
Cognilytics' decision sciences and advanced predictive analytics will be integrated into CenturyLink's IT services, cloud-based services, managed services and Big Data services which will enable business customers to effectively and quickly monetize their data assets.
Last week, CenturyLink acquired DataGardens, a leading Canadian provider of software for cloud-based disaster recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS) ideally suited for small and mid-sized enterprises.
Over the last three years, CenturyLink has been trying all means to establish itself as a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprise customers. In 2011, the company acquired leading cloud and colocation service provider Savvis for $3.2 billion.
In Jun 2013, CenturyLink took over Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) provider AppFog and in Nov 2013, it bought PaaS and Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) provider Tier3. In addition, CenturyLink is reportedly seeking to expand its cloud business with the prospective acquisition of cloud computing company - Rackspace Hosting Inc. ( RAX ).
Recently, CenturyLink announced that it plans to come up with a 1Gbps broadband connection for enterprise clients. We believe that by bundling its cloud services and Big Data analytics with its gigabit capabilities, CenturyLink aims to make a persuasive offer to small and medium sized businesses and to smaller sites of larger businesses.
Other Stock to Consider
CenturyLink carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some stocks worth considering in the same industry include Inteliquent Inc. ( IQNT ), RF Micro Devices Inc. ( RFMD ) and Telenav Inc. ( TNAV ). All three stocks currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
