Time Warner Cable's (TWC.N) acquisition of Navisite Inc (NAVI.O), a provider of managed applications and services, shows that the managed hosting sector may be attracting a broader set of potential acquirers. Data center services are much in demand, driven by scorching growth in telecommunications and cloud computing -- an increasingly popular technology that allows remote access to computing power and data over the Internet. Managed hosting services companies usually own or lease space on a server for use by their clients, typically in a data center. Telecom providers and equipment manufacturers are viewed as typical buyers in the space and potential acquirers include Amazon.com (AMZN.O), Dell Inc (DELL.O), Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N), International Business Machines (IBM.N) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) as they look to enhance their cloud services.
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