Avocent

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Avocent Corporation

Type	Public
Founded	2000
Headquarters	Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.A.
Products	KVM switches, Serial Consoles, IT infrastructure products
Revenue	$610 Million
Employees	1,800 (2006)
Website	www.avocent.com

Avocent Corporation (NASDAQ: AVCT) is an information technology products manufacturer headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. Avocent was formed in 2000 from the merger of the world’s two largest KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) switch manufacturers: Apex and Cybex Computer Products Corporation. As of August 2006, the company employs more than 1,800 people worldwide.

[edit] Product Ranges

Avocent focuses on out of band infrastructure management solutions within 4 major fields.

Intelligence Power Management
Service Processors
Console Servers
KVM over IP Switching

The evolution of Avocent's product development can be divided into three eras: (1) The growth of the analog KVM switch paralleling the growth of server architecture in the data center (with a base business that continues to provide earnings and cash flow); (2) The growth of the digital KVM switch enabling the remote control of geographically dispersed data centers and driven by strong software development making more robust access and control practical - an area we continue to expand; and (3) The diversification and “management” phase (revolving around the acquisition of LANDesk software and the capabilities it brings), which is on the horizon and leverages our points of presence in data centers.

[edit] Acquisitions

Avocent's history of acquisitions includes:

2001 - Equinox Systems, the makers of various serial communications devices.
2002 - 2C Computing, who focused on PCI-bus extension, suitable to remotely connect office users to datacenter-housed PCs.
2003 - Soronti, Inc., makers of KVM over IP technology.
2004 - Crystal Link Technologies, OSA Technologies, Inc.^[1], and Sonic Mobility, Inc.
2006 - Cyclades Corporation and LANDesk Corporation.