Cisco, BroadSoft Now as OneCisco, BroadSoft Now as One
With acquisition now closed, Cisco gains UCaaS might via BroadSoft's large service provider network.
February 2, 2018
Cisco has completed the acquisition of BroadSoft it announced in October 2017, a move that set off a flurry of speculation on how the merger would impact the UC industry, including in these No Jitter posts:
Go Big or Go Home: Cisco to Pay $2B for BroadSoft, by Zeus Kerravala of ZK Research
Cisco-BroadSoft Deal: Big News, Poor Timing, by Robin Gareiss of Nemertes Research
Cisco Buys BroadSoft: Now What?, by Irwin Lazar of Nemertes Research
BroadSoft Fits Cisco Like a Puzzle Piece, by Dave Michels of TalkingPointz
How Cisco-BroadSoft Acquisition Impacts UCaaS Ecosystem, by Elka Popova of Frost & Sullivan
Roundly noted is that providers must be more nimble than ever if they're going to capture UCaaS dollars and gain market stature. With the completed merger just hours old, we of course have no answers as to how successful the new entity will be in throwing its UCaaS might around, or what the promised "full suite of rich collaboration experiences to power the future of work" will look like. For now, Cisco is simply saying that it'll be combining BroadSoft's open interface and standards-based solutions with its existing portfolio to offer solutions for all-sized businesses through a network of value-added reseller and service provider partners. (Perhaps we'll learn some details at Enterprise Connect 2018, March 12 to 15, in Orlando, Fla.)
Cisco will be keeping on former BroadSoft CEO Michael Tessler and his organization, under its Unified Communications Technology Group, the company said in the press release issued this morning.
The deal, as expected, is valued at about $1.9 billion, with Cisco paying $55 in cash per BroadSoft share of common stock, the company stated. BroadSoft, whose stock tracked on the NASDAQ exchange, will be delisted as of Feb. 12, Cisco said.
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