Everyone is talking about Cisco buying NetApp, but we hear Cisco has other plans up its sleeve

There's an implosion going on inthe $36 billion enterprise storage market, which was the darling of the tech world just two years ago.

One of the hardest hit is #NetApp, its stock now trading at its lowest point in about five years — the stock is about $22, a mere $6.9 billion market cap. It's lost almost half its value in the last year, and almost two-thirds of its value since 2011.

Now everyone is buzzing that #Cisco might buck up and buy its partner NetApp, which is the No. 5 storage vendor.

We've heard this Cisco-buying-NetApp scuttlebutt from multiple people in the last week.

People have been talking about itever since #Dell announced its plans to buy #EMC last October. (And every few years, there's a newCisco-buying-NetApp rumor.)

But we understand from people close to the company that such a deal isn't going to happen. Not now, not ever. 

Cisco is aware of the all the talk and is being asked all the time, we hear from somebody close to the company. But the truth is Cisco's "focus is on emerging technologies in storage," and that the company is "looking forward instead of backward."

For the record, Cisco spokesperson Nigel Glennie declined comment, telling us, "We don't comment on rumors and speculation."  (We've reached out to NetApp as well and will update when we hear back.)

http://www.businessinsider.com/were-not-buying-cisconetapp-rumors-2016-1