Cisco acquisition of TANDBERG set to accelerate true mass adoption of video

LONDON, UK: Global video conferencing network and managed service provider, mvision, has welcomed the news of Cisco’s offer to acquire TANDBERG, stating that the sheer size and marketing power of Cisco combined with the technical excellence and interoperability of TANDBERG products will make video a truly mainstream business tool.

Already a booming industry as businesses strive to find ways to do more with less during the economic downturn, mvision suggests that a new, broader appeal of a combined TANDBERG and Cisco offering has enormous potential for video users and providers alike.

As TANDBERG's leading video endpoints and network infrastructure solutions are integrated into Cisco's world-class collaboration architecture, intercompany and multi-vendor interoperability is guaranteed. This ease of use; from desktop to immersive, multi-screen Telepresence, will benefit the customers of both vendors, as well as competitors and partners by accelerating end user interest in video collaboration globally.

Terry Dwyer, Managing Director at mvision explains: "The Cisco/TANDBERG acquisition will have a positive effect on the video industry at many levels. Firstly, as businesses invest in video itself, there is a resulting demand for supporting networking infrastructure; which is good news for the video channel.

"Also, a rising volume of endpoint sales will promote the use of Telepresence and the need for managed services such as ours; particularly within the large corporate user organisations that are increasingly common place for us. In the SME arena, where proprietary infrastructure facilities aren’t as affordable, it creates demand for a managed video or Telepresence service. And, as one of only five TANDBERG global managed service providers in the world, mvision is ideally placed to take advantage of the new opportunities this will create while adding a great deal of value back to the Cisco product line.”

"Analyst reactions to the announcement seem to largely agree that the acquisition will deepen Cisco's commitment to the video market, which it recognises as being an important element of collaboration,” concludes Dwyer. “One leading group states that TANDBERG will fill in the middle part of Cisco's offering – the gap between its high-end Telepresence solutions and the low-end web cams and video phones.”

Rob Bamforth, principal analyst for communication, collaboration and convergence at Quocirca adds: “Applications like video conferencing may struggle to stand apart when really they’re just another form of communications that is visual. That was a TANDBERG philosophy and it looks like it's been proved right.”

mvision is the leading installer of TANDBERG’s T3 Telepresence in the UK and the only T3 venue in central London connected to the TANDBERG network.