Cisco Outlines Plan to Integrate Tandberg Line

Cisco Systems Inc. recently outlined its plans to integrate Tandberg’s lineup of video conferencing products into its overall portfolio when the acquisition of the Norwegian-based vendor finalizes sometime in the next four months.

In December, Cisco moved ahead with the purchase, announcing that it held acceptances from more than 90 percent of shareholders, enough to proceed with the deal, the price for which it revised upward to $3.4 billion to satisfy reluctant investors who argued that its initial offer was well below market value.

In a statement, the vendor reiterated its intention to form a TelePresence Technology Group to retain and build on both companies’ product lines, and to create an open architecture to support Tandberg products and other, third-party, integrated platforms.

In addition, Cisco said that Tandberg’s sales and channels organization will become a special, customer-focused unit to ease customers through the transition.

New product groupings

Cisco said that its TelePresence Technology Group will include products grouped as Immersive TelePresence, Multipurpose Room Systems, Personal Systems, Platform Portfolio, Infrastructure and TelePresence-as-a-Service.

The backbone of the Immersive group will continue to include Cisco’s TelePresence System 3000 line and Tandberg’s Total TelePresence Solution, including the T3 and T1 products.

Cisco said that shortly after the acquisition, it will deliver “high definition, immersive, multiscreen interoperability between these systems and other multiscreen systems.”

Multipurpose Room Systems will house the Cisco TelePresence System 1300 line and Tandberg’s Profile series.

Personal Systems will include Tandberg’s personal systems portfolio, Cisco TelePresence System 1100 and 500 lines.

The Platform Portfolio is expected to contain Tandberg’s C-series, MXP codecs, set-top systems, and PC video and high-definition cameras.

The Infrastructure folder will be comprised of both vendors’ infrastructure products, making up the “basis of the Cisco TelePresence architecture,” and will offer stepped-up interoperability, better solutions and promote “intercompany services and integration with Cisco’s and other companies’ digital media and collaboration solutions,” the company said.

TelePresence-as-a-Service will include Cisco TelePresence Exchange and Cisco TelePresence Public Suites.

Cisco's purchase of Tandberg was followed last year by additional activity in the video conferencing market when Logitech International, a maker of consumer-oriented devices, landed LifeSize Communications for $405 million.