Some of you might have heard about Cisco’s $1.9 billion buyout of communications software vendor BroadSoft, last week. Luckily, for the customers of certified Cisco solutions partners, it’s all good news.
As a New England business owner or manager, it’s likely you have Cisco gear/software powering your network. So naturally, you may be wondering how the deal will impact your portfolio. When such big M&A occur, they offer both promises and perils.
Collaboration and communications are the life of any business today. So, it’s reasonable to be wary and hopeful, alike. Users fear that they will face the premature obsolescence of their investments. On the other hand, they can also hope that synergies will yield even better solutions and support.
Future Of Work At Risk?
And with this particular buyout, nothing less than the so-called “future of work” is at stake, as a Forbes writer explains. It will affect the solutions that enable workgroups to communicate with customers and others via:
- Voice
- Video
- Messaging
- Web conferencing
For these solutions, every individual customer suddenly has to weigh risk and reward, and consider its network architecture, return on investment, vendor road map, and more. Does the buyout mean more of the same technologies? And if so, will you be at risk of not leveraging a new benefit the merger eventually enables?
Communications Fear And Uncertainty?
The press has many opinions on the deal, which doesn’t simplify things. In fact, the buyout is likely to be confusing to joint customers/partners of Cisco and BroadSoft, suggests one TechTarget article. After all, BroadSoft’s BroadWorks and BroadCloud do what Cisco’s Spark, WebEx, and other solutions can do.
And, taking a different tack, one blog asks if this is the end of on-premises private branch exchanges (PBXs): The merger certainly seems to validate the cloud-based business services delivery model. But ultimately, both companies offer great products, services, and savvy, and will certainly make smart decisions that benefit the market.
A Cisco Solutions Provider To Do The Worrying
But in the meantime, you may be figuring out the impact of the deal to your business. That’s why it’s so useful to have a proven solutions provider that does all the product road map worrying and figuring, on your behalf.
As a New England business professional, you want to focus on what makes your business succeed — not on product road maps and rationalization. A managed service provider or Cisco solutions partner can make long-term sense of the acquisition, and the overlapping product lines, for your benefit.
At BCS, we manage relationships with Cisco and other vendors to make sure you have the IT collaboration infrastructures you need to succeed. Let’s talk today about communications as a strategic business platform.
