VMware has struck a deal to acquire software-based networking startup VeloCloud Networks, according to a person close to VeloCloud, in a move that is likely to escalate VMware’s rivalry with Cisco Systems. Terms of the deal couldn’t be learned.

For VMware, a data center software company, acquiring VeloCloud is a sign of its commitment to becoming a major networking player. VeloCloud’s technology, known as software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN), routes traffic to ensure that applications including voice and video running in data centers deliver sufficient performance when users access them from a company’s branch offices.