SAS has for the second time this year reached out to a local firm to boost its technology capabilities.

On Friday, SAS said it acquired certain system automation virtualization technology for use in “cloud computing” from Raleigh-based rPath.

At the same time, SAS said it hired “some” rPath employees associated with that technology.

rPath, which has positioned itself as a platformp-as-a-service company focused on cloud applications, is in the process of shutting down its operations, according to a SAS spokesperson.

The spokesperson stressed that SAS did not acquire all assets of the company. 

In all, SAS hired 19 former rPath workers, the spokesperson added.

The group joined SAS as of Friday and form a new Platform Deployment Technologies group that will operate within SAS Research and Development.

The deal “increases SAS’s cloud and on-demand domain expertise needed to support customers tapping into these areas,” SAS said inn a statement.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Both companies are privately held. 

In February, SAS acquired Raleigh-based aiMatch, which manages online advertising. 

SAS descried the technology involved as “next generation.”

Virtualization technology enables multiple operating systems to run on the same machine or device.

Cloud computing enables users to scale need for servers and computing power on demand regardless of physical location.

“Our customers are telling us that the cloud and other virtualization platforms are critical technologies for them, and they want greater use of SAS throughout their organizations,” said Keith Collins, chief technology officer at SAS. “By acquiring rPath’s key technology and industry knowledge, we will expand our commitment to the virtual applications and appliances space on a global enterprise level. In addition, we will further enhance our ability to build and deliver SAS solutions, such as SAS High Performance Analytics, in a cloud environment. This is a great fit for SAS and we’re excited to have employees of rPath join our team.”

Former Red Hat executives launched rPath in 2005. The co-founders are no longer with the firm.

SAS has more than 14,000 employees spread globally across 400 offices. Of those workers, more than 6,600 are based in the U.S. with just over 5,000 in Cary.

[SAS ARCHIVE: Check out 10 years of SAS stories as reported in WRAL Tech Wire.]