Avocent
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Information technology |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Huntsville , United States |
Number of employees | 1800+ (2006) |
| Parent | Vertiv |
Avocent Corporation was a manufacturer of information technology products based in Huntsville, Alabama. Established in 2000 through the merger of Apex and Cybex Computer Products Corporation—then the two largest producers of KVM equipment globally—Avocent had a workforce exceeding 1,800 employees worldwide as of August 2006.
On October 6, 2009, Emerson Electric declared its intention to purchase Avocent for $1.2 billion USD. The transaction was finalized on December 11, resulting in Avocent's integration into Emerson Network Power, a division within Emerson Electric. Subsequently, on August 2, 2016, Emerson arranged to divest Network Power to Platinum Equity. Following this sale, Emerson Network Power was renamed Vertiv, under which Avocent has been operating as a subsidiary since 2016.
Product range
Avocent's expertise lies in out-of-band infrastructure management, encompassing:
- Management of servers
- Power management
- Service processor administration
- Console-server oversight
- KVM control systems
- OEM-targeted IPMI solutions
- Embedded software development
- Desktop management
- Implementation of ITIL and IT service management
The progression of Avocent’s product line includes:
- Analog KVM switches designed to support expanding data center server environments
- Digital KVM switches facilitating remote administration of distributed data centers
- Expansion into management software through acquisitions such as LANDesk (2006) and Touchpaper (2008), enhancing infrastructure management capabilities
Acquisitions
Avocent’s strategic acquisitions significantly broadened its product offerings and market presence, including:
- 2001 – Acquired Equinox Systems, a company specializing in serial communication devices.
- 2002 – Purchased 2C Computing, known for PCI-bus extension technology enabling remote PC connectivity between branch offices and data centers.
- 2003 – Acquired Soronti, Inc., creators of KVM over IP technologies.
- 2004 – Integrated Crystal Link Technologies, OSA Technologies, Inc., and Sonic Mobility, Inc., to strengthen remote access solutions.
- 2006 – Added Cyclades Corporation and LANDesk Software to expand IT management product lines.
- 2008 – Acquired Touchpaper Software and Ergo 2000, diversifying into LCD rack-based console hardware.