Network equipment supplier Cisco is buying US cloud networking firm Meraki in a$1.2bn deal.

Cisco,which is keen to raise its profile in cloud computing,said the acquisition will help accelerate its evolution to software-centric offerings and expand cloud-based network offerings to new markets.

Meraki's services,which help firms manage their networks using the internet,are aimed at mid-sized businesses and are used by more than 10,000 companies.

"The acquisition of Meraki enables Cisco to make simple,secure,cloud managed networks available to our global customer base of mid-sized businesses and enterprises,"Rob Soderbery,senior vice-president,Cisco Enterprise Networking Group said.

"These companies have the same IT needs as larger organisations,but without the resources to integrate complex IT solutions."

Cisco's 2012 acquisitions Lightwire-$271m NDS Group-$5bn ClearAccess-undisclosed Truviso-undisclosed Virtuata-undisclosed Think Smart Technologies-undisclosed vCider-undisclosed Cloupia-$125m Meraki-$1.2bn

The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2013,subject to customary closing conditions,including regulatory review.

News of the Meraki acquisition comes just days after Cisco announced a$125m deal to buy datacentre management firm Cloupia.

That announcement came just 24 hours after Cisco announced its financial results for the first quarter of its 2013 fiscal year.

Profits jumped 18%year-on-year,with the datacentre division being the most successful,growing revenues by 61%to$417m.

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