# SolarWinds (SWI)



## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

This is the thread for SolarWinds a network management company that has so far evaded the coverage of mainstream media.

Sector: Technology
Notable traits: Some near term debt, sub 10 billion valuation, no media coverage, not cloud based.

PS: No, it has nothing to do with solar power, nor wind power.


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## buhhy (Nov 23, 2011)

They aren't cloud-based.


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## jcgd (Oct 30, 2011)

buhhy said:


> They aren't cloud-based.


Care to expand on this?


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

Excuse my mistake

The PR I remember reading is selling them as a cloud play.

So what should they be categorized as? Netowrk management? That doesn't sound like that's all they can do.


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## buhhy (Nov 23, 2011)

From reading their product offerings, it looks like they provide Network Management Software, namely Orion. It's used by network admins to monitor network uptime and performance in server clusters. Basically, Orion is deployed on the local server and provides information and administration tools about each node machine. It looks like they have a virtualization monitoring offering too, which means that software can manage server clouds.

That seems to be their play in cloud computing: they provide the tools to monitor and control cloud setups. That might be a growth area as personal cloud networks become more popular. From reading a little on them, Solarwind solutions are targetted towards SMBs, and avoids competition from IBM, Cisco, and HP. Orion seems to have a good reputation.


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

That's only part of what they do now and the reason I think it's a cloud play. But if looking at it I the definition of application cloud where one client can have their whole program hosted. It's not really quite there.

Their acquisition trajectory seem to be the thin line between cloud and network management.

The stock also seem to want to go parabolic. Let's see if my gut feeling is right.


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## avrex (Nov 14, 2010)

@Causalien. I was wondering if your further research has prompted you to buy SWI. 

Your major purchase of TSLA was a good one, for you.
So, I was wondering if this was your next major purchase.


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

For the forseeble months till June. No. Though I already have a small stake in it. Similar to the amount in the 20% of TSLA. SWI and TSLA belongs in the same pool of money allocation. i.e. risky tech. So if I want to add to this, it'll mean that I believe this will outperform TSLA.

It's also partly because I did another major purchase after TSLA. So now I am eyeing the cash reserve sitting at my checking account and wondering if I should use it.


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