[SatNews] Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD) has acquired Global Protocols LLC, a firm that assists government organizations achieve greater application performance across satellite networks using the Space Communications Protocol Standards (SCPS).

The addition of Global Protocols’ technology, SkipWare, to Riverbed® WAN optimization, will bolster Riverbed’s position in delivering optimization solutions for satellite networks. SCPS is a protocol solution that was developed by NASA and US Space Command and is used by military and other organizations that operate in satellite networking environments to overcome the severe performance degradation caused by weather and other interference that jeopardizes mission-critical communications. Global Protocols’ SkipWare product has a customer base in military, civilian and Department of Defense (DoD) agencies that operate over satellite networks. The acquisition will allow Riverbed to build on its success in providing DoD and other organizations with IT performance solutions that meet their rigorous standards, and bring the joint solution to the wide range of organizations using satellite networks for business-critical communications.

The acquisition of Global Protocols is an expansion of the existing partnership between Riverbed and Global Protocols. Since announcing its partnership in 2008, Riverbed and Global Protocols have enabled joint customers to achieve high-performance, secure access to mission-critical information by combining the award-winning WAN optimization capabilities of Riverbed Steelhead® appliances with best-of-breed SkipWare functionality from Global Protocols within the Riverbed Services Platform (RSP).