Cisco Buys Inlet, Gains Video/Data Compression Technology
Cisco is back on the M&A warpath, look out! Inlet Technologies, an NC-based company that won't have to move far, has just been acquired by Cisco, not too terribly longer after they picked up Pure Digital -- the company responsible for Flip Video pocket camcorders. Reports are stating that the company is being purchased for $95 million, which isn't cheap, but the acquisition seems to fit well with Cisco's recent push into video streaming.
There's no doubt that video streaming and digital downloads are on the rise, and Cisco is picking up another company to get them ready for the revolution that is upon us. Enrique Rodriguez, general manager of Cisco's service provider video technology group, had this to say about the deal: "Cisco's Videoscape platform will play a key role in reinventing the TV experience, and the acquisition of Inlet will enable our customers to leverage the network as a platform to deliver innovative video experiences to consumers on any device." It's expected that the deal will close within the 1st half of this year, and Inlet's employees will be integrated into Cisco's service provider video technology group.
Currently, Inlet provides video technology to a wide variety of companies, including NBC, BBC and Microsoft. The gist of the company is that they provide video/data compression technologies that enhance online streaming, and even the streaming technology offered at MLB.tv comes from these guys. Cisco's most likely looking to take their videoconferencing systems to the next level, but once they fully own this tech, the sky really is the limit.
There's no doubt that video streaming and digital downloads are on the rise, and Cisco is picking up another company to get them ready for the revolution that is upon us. Enrique Rodriguez, general manager of Cisco's service provider video technology group, had this to say about the deal: "Cisco's Videoscape platform will play a key role in reinventing the TV experience, and the acquisition of Inlet will enable our customers to leverage the network as a platform to deliver innovative video experiences to consumers on any device." It's expected that the deal will close within the 1st half of this year, and Inlet's employees will be integrated into Cisco's service provider video technology group.
Currently, Inlet provides video technology to a wide variety of companies, including NBC, BBC and Microsoft. The gist of the company is that they provide video/data compression technologies that enhance online streaming, and even the streaming technology offered at MLB.tv comes from these guys. Cisco's most likely looking to take their videoconferencing systems to the next level, but once they fully own this tech, the sky really is the limit.
Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire Inlet Technologies
Acquisition Will Support Cisco's Videoscape Strategy
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Feb. 4, 2011 – Cisco today announced its intent to acquire privately-held Inlet Technologies, a leading provider of Adaptive Bit Rate (ABR) digital media processing platforms. Based in Raleigh, N.C., Inlet will strengthen the capabilities of Cisco's Videoscape TV platform, allowing service and content providers to deliver compelling video experiences to any device over any Internet Protocol (IP) network.
"Service and content providers have a tremendous opportunity to deliver exciting video experiences as media consumption increases across mobile, desktop, and smart devices," said Enrique Rodriguez, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco's Service Provider Video Technology Group. "Cisco's Videoscape platform will play a key role in reinventing the TV experience, and the acquisition of Inlet will enable our customers to leverage the network as a platform to deliver innovative video experiences to consumers on any device."
Cisco Videoscape is a comprehensive TV platform for service providers that brings together digital TV and online content with social media and communications applications to create a truly immersive home and mobile video entertainment experience. Inlet's advanced ABR technology, which is used in streaming multimedia over managed and unmanaged networks, adapts the quality of the video stream based on real-time network conditions.
Inlet brings to Cisco a strong team that understands the complexities of delivering ABR video over IP networks to any device. Upon the close of the acquisition, Inlet employees will be integrated into Cisco's Service Provider Video Technology Group.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately $95 million in cash and retention-based incentives in exchange for all shares of Inlet. The acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to be complete in the first half of calendar year 2011.
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