Cisco and Tandberg have moved to reassure their respectivechannels that last week's $3bn acquisition of the Norwegian video specialistwill be a positive move.
In a corporate video Tandberg CEO Fredrik Halvorsen andCisco CEO John Chambers stressed their commitment to resellers but answered few questions.
The duo urged dealers to focus on maintaining 'business asusual' while the deal completes, while Chambers spoke of a game-changingopportunity for both channels.
Halvorsen added: "Discussions have addressed what we can dofor our partner group, and that ranges [across] the whole spectrum fromtraining to product."
Canalys analyst Alastair Edwards said the move was a cleverstrategy on Cisco's part.
"It's a big Trojan horse for Cisco because it pushes theircore interests and drives the need for network upgrades," he said.
"While Cisco has a competitive offering at the high-end withTelepresence, and at the low-end with Linksys and Flip, it's missing the rightproducts in the midmarket," he continued.
Tandberg partners have largely welcomed the deal, as Terry Dwyer,CEO at Tandberg partner mvision, explained.
"From what I understand this is a growth acquisition; it'sabout pumping money into R&D and expanding the business," he said. "I canonly assume they mean to make video-conferencing ubiquitous, which can only bea good thing."
"Tandberg has always been known for reliable, openstandards. I hope Cisco don't change a thing," he added.
Dwyer, who hinted that he would be trying to attain CiscoGold status himself, added that added that one consequence of the acquisitioncould be an increase in consolidation in the channel as Cisco partners scrambleto acquire Tandberg dealers' midmarket capability.
Tandberg rival Polycom, which now stands as pretty much theonly big-name independent video provider, also stands to benefit, according to EMEAsolutions marketing director Ray McGroarty.
"It shows that large organisations are seeing videocollaboration as a key technology, and reassures us that our positioning isvalid," he said.
McGroarty added: "What has happened before is that buyers assessthese technologies through people like Cisco, then become aware ofotherplayers in the marketplace."
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