Cisco Buys Video Conference Gear Maker Tandberg for $3 Billion Cash
Editor's Note: Very Interesting move on Cisco's part. Looks like they are making a move into video conferencing portion of the market with this purchase. Cisco already had a an active channel in the tele-presence market, that includes large full size video projections of a person to make you feel like the person is actually in your office.
Problem was that the gear was easily into the hundreds of thousands of dollars so the market was specific for major fortune 1000 companies and government agencies. With this purchase they will be able to compete with companies like Polycom in the small to medium sized business market with this video conferencing gear.
New York Times -
Cisco Systems continued to show just how serious it is about video conferencing, announcing late Wednesday night the $3 billion acquisition of Tandberg, a Norwegian video communications company.
Cisco sells expensive, room-sized video conferencing systems to companies known as TelePresence systems. Tandberg has similar technology but also sells smaller-sized, cheaper conferencing units. In addition,
Tandberg has specialized software for managing video conferencing systems and for creating connections between systems that rely on different underlying technology. “It really enables us to build out our portfolio,” said Ned Hooper, a senior vice president at Cisco.
Cisco’s corporate video conferencing products require the company to outfit a customer’s conference room with several large displays, networking equipment and even special tables, chairs and wall paint. By contrast, Tandberg has a range of gear, including high-definition video systems, that can sit on desks or be used with personal computers.
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Posted to Cisco