Cisco has confirmed it is to take a "measured approach" to integrating WebEx once its $3.2bn acquisition of the firm is completed later this year, but it has also signalled there are areas where it could tie WebEx's technology together with its existing products.
Speaking following the announcement of the deal earlier today, Charles Carmel, director of Cisco's business development group, said that the company did not want to disrupt WebEx's "optimised [business] model", adding that the aim of the deal is to bolster Cisco's collaboration tools portfolio and enhance the networking giant's appeal to mid-market customers.
However, Carmel added that in the medium to long term the two companies could be effectively integrated at both a technology and sales level.
From a sales perspective, Carmel said that Cisco plans to use its position with enterprise customers and strong presence outside the US to provide new routes to market for WebEx's online collaboration tools.
Meanwhile, he also insisted that technical integration projects would be undertaken in the longer term claiming that WebEx's products are likely to tied into Cisco's Unified Communications suite of collaboration tools, its SMB-focused Linksys 1 hosted communications product, and its video telepresence functionality.
Carmel also dismissed any suggestions that the two companies focus on collaboration tools would result in overlapping product portfolios. "It is true both companies have collaboration products," he said. "But WebEx has focused on inter-company, data-based collaboration primarily for SMBs, while Cisco has been much more focused on intra-company voice and video conferencing for large enterprises."
