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The intersection of wireless networking and cloud-based services presents an opportunity for enterprise branch offices and innovative providers to identify and opportunities for growth and cost savings.

It is this intersection that’s the focus for Aerohive (News - Alert), which until recently identified itself as an enterprise WiFi vendor. Then, early this year, the company acquired Pareto Networks, a cloud-based VPN and routing provider.

It’s not a stretch to say that the acquisition is transforming Aerohive into a new kind of business, once that’s able to fully serve branch offices with a full range of affordable, easily-managed wireless network solutions.

“At branch offices, people often don’t want to install switches,” explained Adam Conway, Aerohive’s Vice President of Product Management, in a recent video interview. “They want to use wireless only for access. You can save a lot of money that way. Now, we have the router and the access points to create the entire network.”

Pareto, which was founded in 2007, started shipping its cloud-based solution around the middle of last year. Aerohive saw the synergies between the two companies, and moved quickly on the opportunity to integrate.

Conway explained that, previously, Aerohive’s focus was on delivering WiFi (News - Alert) via the cloud -- either via SaaS or private cloud. It’s a model that makes provisioning very simple, and also streamlines troubleshooting. The acquisition of Pareto brings routing into that mix. 

“Remote locations, especially ones without IT people present, are very difficult to manage,” noted Conway in the video interview. “Things like truck rolls and general maintenance issues can be a huge expense. The traditional approach of plugging a console port into a router to find out why it can’t connect to the internet is not feasible at those sites.”

With the acquisition complete, Aerohive is racing to integrate Pareto’s platform with its own; both will be combined under the Aerohive brand. Ease of management for customers requires that the two platforms work together as a single OS/cloud.

It’s expected that the first stage of platform integration will be complete sometime in Second Quarter 2011. Most of Pareto’s platform features will be present in the first release.

“We expect to have a full-blown router available in Q2,” Conway said. 

This will enable customers to plug access points in and get going right away.

Aerohive traditionally has focused on large enterprise customers, as well as the mid-market. Pareto’s portfolio fits nicely into the company’s growth strategy, by expanding cloud capabilities for easier deployment and faster time-to-value for customers. 

With the expanded platform, customers will be able to issue a PO and get up and running right away. The solution is delivered using the SaaS (News - Alert) model, giving customers the tools to do their own, streamlined troubleshooting. Meanwhile, channel partners have the opportunity to offer troubleshooting services by logging in and managing the network without disrupting anything.

To learn more about cloud delivery of WiFi services, watch the full video interview.