Even for the intensely private family behind the Advance/Newhouse publishing empire, the message seemed clear: the company is moving away from its core media business.

Last week, Advance — which owns cable operator Bright House Networks, Condé Nast magazines, a string of newspapers and an interest in cable programmer Discovery Communications — plunked down $500 million to acquire 1010data, a so-called big data software developer.

“It’s a bold move and signals new priorities for Advance,” said one media executive.

Advance’s last big acquisition was in 1999, when it paid $650 million to buy Fairchild Publications from Disney. Last year, Advance sold Fairchild, which had shed titles over the years, to Penske Media for $100 million.

In March, Advance said it was selling its majority stake in Bright House to Charter Communications for $10.4 billion. The deal is expected to close by year end.

The second major move in recent months signals that the company, which owns glitzy magazines including Vanity Fair, Glamour and Vogue, along with papers from Staten Island to Oregon, has little interest in adding print properties to its portfolio. Like all print publishers, Advance has been under pressure in recent years as ad dollars migrate to digital outlets.

While buzz of an impending restructuring inside Condé continues to circulate, the only concrete news to emerge so far was the deal announced Monday.

Steven Newhouse, chairman of AdvanceNet and the son of Advance President Donald Newhouse, downplayed what many see as a strategic shift away from media.

“There is no diversification drive,” he said. “The company has always been opportunistic.”