Over half of Cisco’s internal network traffic is video, generated from over 700 telepresence rooms and numerous desktop video technologies such as WebEx and Cisco Unified Video Advantage. Another leader in the video space is Tandberg, where network architecture, dial plans, and all other related technologies are designed for efficient use of video. In fact, there are almost no audio-only phones at Tandberg offices.
In early October 2009 when Cisco announced that it would acquire Tandberg, naturally video was positioned as a technology that would enhance the experience of the acquisition integration. We’re starting to see initial results of the role of video during the acquisition process, and it is evident how this technology is changing the way businesses are run.
From negotiations to closing, video was in the forefront of the integration process. Most obvious were the significant geographic and time differences among the Tandberg and Cisco corporate sites. Tandberg has dual headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and New York City, New York. Cisco’s headquarters is in San Jose, California. Acquisition integration teams would have to either travel between these locations or rely on less than ideal audio-only conferencing services. Instead the acquisition process was made practically seamless because we used rich video through telepresence and Tandberg technology and desktop-based video WebEx conferencing. Video greatly reduced the need to travel between sites, thus saving costs and increasing productivity (through time savings for individuals and better quality of life from not having to travel).
Equally important was the agility that video brought when making critical business decisions. Cisco and Tandberg were able to make decisions quickly over video that would have otherwise been delayed by the extensive travel required for executives and key integration staff members.
Video technologies we used during the acquisition process ranged from high-end telepresence for executive meetings and important closing discussions to Flip video captures shared instantly over the network (with many other Cisco and Tandberg video technologies in between).
Communication to employees is also important during the acquisition process. This is especially true for the company that is being acquired. By using video to communicate, Tandberg kept its employees updated throughout the acquisition process.
Cisco and Tandberg are working to provide a complete video experience. With the network playing a critical role in this transformation and doing a lot of the “heavy lifting” through seamless video transmission, conversion, etc., we are excited to see the next steps of the role of video at Cisco unfold.
Stay tuned and visit the Cisco on Cisco website www.cisco.com/go/ciscoit for more business video content.
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