NetApp has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Canada-based Bycast, a provider of advanced storage virtualization software for large-scale digital archives and storage clouds. Bycast helps customers whose business depends on access to vital data. It also protects and preserves digital assets over their lifetime

With this acquisition, NetApp broadens its capabilities in serving key verticals such as digital media, Web 2.0, healthcare, and cloud services providers. In addition to its products, Bycast brings to NetApp valuable technology and talented employees.

The acquisition is expected to close in May 2010, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

CA will be equipped to capture several important growth market segments-including emerging enterprises, emerging national economies, and the MSPs who are providing these customers with IT management services via the cloud

CA has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Nimsoft, a provider of IT performance and availability monitoring solutions for emerging enterprises and Managed Service Providers (MSPs)-in an all-cash transaction valued at $350 million.

This acquisition will extend CA’s ability to meet the unique IT management needs of emerging enterprises and MSPs, both of which are playing leading roles in the growth of cloud computing. It will also extend CA’s position in the Service Assurance market segment, offering one of the most comprehensive suites of IT monitoring and management solutions in the industry.

Nimsoft’s technology and go-to-market approach also will leverage CA’s presence in growing international markets-where the company expects cloud computing and managed services to play a central role in business development.

Wipro has signed a Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) : Dedicated Advisor agreement with Microsoft. This agreement allows Wipro to advise and enable its global enterprise customers to migrate to the BPOS cloud services by provisioning a range of professional services from “go-live” assessments to full migration and solution implementation accelerators.

Wipro has experience in platform migration capabilities that allow for faster implementation and help customers realize value much faster,” said Eron Kelly, senior director of product management at Microsoft. “With BPOS and partners like Wipro, Microsoft is delivering a software-plus-services approach and collaboration solutions for customers in the cloud, focused on reducing costs for businesses while maintaining a great user experience, security and privacy.

This Suite is a set of cloud-based applications for enterprises, and includes Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Office Live Meeting, Microsoft Office Communications Online and Microsoft Forefront Online Protection for Exchange. Customers can choose any or all of the products from the suite, which will provide enterprise ready collaboration, content management, messaging and directory platform services, along with advisory, migration and maintenance services.

By adopting BPOS, enterprises can get access to a feature rich messaging and collaboration platform while lowering hardware, storage investments as well as lot of associated software investments.

Wipro is also developing a Microsoft Enterprise Architecture Transformation Platform to help accelerate the migration to Microsoft technologies. By migrating to the BPOS, enterprises will be able to achieve significant cost reductions, saving up to 50 percent for their customers while helping them becoming more agile and flexible.