Networking provider Cisco Systems announced on Thursday it is acquiring cloud and data center management and automation provider

Cloupia for approximately $125 million in cash and retention-based incentives.

The move comes almost a year after Cloupia introduced Cisco and NetApp FlexPod architecture support for its Cloupia Unified

Infrastructure Controller.

Cloupia is based in Santa Clara, California, an office in London, UK, and a R&D center in India.

The cloud automation provider’s solutions enables enterprises and service providers to easily deploy and configure physical and virtual

resources from a single management portal.

Cloupia’s infrastructure management software enhances Cisco’s Unified Computing System and Nexus switching portfolio by using

this single management portal to monitor the automation of compute, network, storage, virtual machine and operating system resources.

Cloupia is consistence with Cisco’s overall strategy to develop next-generation data center, virtualization and cloud technologies, as well as recruiting top talent for the company.

Cisco says it will integrate existing Cloupia employees will into its Data Center Group division.

Cloupia CEO Raju Datla, who has also worked at Cisco, UB Networks and Wipro, previously sold his company Jahi Networks to Cisco in 2004. In addition, Cloupia’s chief technology chief Raju Penmetsa also worked at Cisco for three years before co-founding Cloupia.

The acquisition is expected to close some time in the second quarter of Cisco’s fiscal year 2013.