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Thursday 8th October 2009
8 October 2009
IT networking company Cisco Systems is to buy Norwegian video conferencing maker Tandberg for around £1.8bn.
The deal will make Cisco a major player in the desktop to boardroom video-conferencing market, which it estimates to be around £21bn and growing rapidly, said Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of Cisco's emerging technologies group.
Tandberg is a global maker of business video equipment including desktop videophones and conference-room facilities.
"End-to-end video architecture is redefining the way we do business," says De Beer in an internet video. "The best Tandberg products will be integrated with Cisco solutions."
De Beer also called for international standards to allow all manufacturers of video conferencing solutions to make accessories and devise business models that work using any manufacturer's products and systems.
"We strongly believe that this integration will accelerate the market for the benefits of all users and make videoconferencing ubiquitous in the enterprise," he said.
Tandberg's chief executive officer Fredrik Halvorsen, will head Cisco's new tele-presence technology group as part of the deal likely to be completed early next year.
Tandberg technology and products have also been used in other applications, such as in hospitals where new mothers can have a video link with their poorly children where they are cared for in another ward. Such an application has been operating at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow.
IT networking company Cisco Systems is to buy Norwegian video conferencing maker Tandberg for around £1.8bn.
The deal will make Cisco a major player in the desktop to boardroom video-conferencing market, which it estimates to be around £21bn and growing rapidly, said Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of Cisco's emerging technologies group.
Tandberg is a global maker of business video equipment including desktop videophones and conference-room facilities.
"End-to-end video architecture is redefining the way we do business," says De Beer in an internet video. "The best Tandberg products will be integrated with Cisco solutions."
De Beer also called for international standards to allow all manufacturers of video conferencing solutions to make accessories and devise business models that work using any manufacturer's products and systems.
"We strongly believe that this integration will accelerate the market for the benefits of all users and make videoconferencing ubiquitous in the enterprise," he said.
Tandberg's chief executive officer Fredrik Halvorsen, will head Cisco's new tele-presence technology group as part of the deal likely to be completed early next year.
Tandberg technology and products have also been used in other applications, such as in hospitals where new mothers can have a video link with their poorly children where they are cared for in another ward. Such an application has been operating at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow.