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WebEx customers say Cisco acquisition could spur more innovation

Cisco’s $3.2 billion purchase of WebEx could result in joint products, international expansion for the collaboration service provider.
By Jon Brodkin , Network World , 03/15/2007
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Three executives who use WebEx’s online collaboration services say the financial backing of Cisco, which is set to acquire the company for $3.2 billion, may help WebEx expand an already impressive product line that includes Web conferencing and remote access technologies.

“I think that large companies can have the funding for more research and development and will help them tighten up their systems even better,” says Edgar Blazona, owner and CEO of furniture company TrueModern in Berkeley, Calif. “I assume having that kind of backing will give them an opportunity to expand their product line.”

Blazona uses both Web conferencing services from WebEx and PCNow, a WebEx product that provides remote access to PCs through other computers and mobile devices.

Sometimes, a company can be too big, WebEx customer David Farmer said today after hearing of the Cisco purchase. But in this case, Farmer says being owned by Cisco could help WebEx innovate and expand internationally.

“Cisco is such a reputable brand itself, they probably will be able to put the pedal down,” says Farmer, founder and CEO of Ad Giants, a Dallas company that makes a marketing process management system and also has a partnership with WebEx. “I was just talking to [WebEx executives] yesterday, in fact, about how they’re really growing in China and the Pacific realm. I think this could be great for them.”

Mark Lynd, president of FireScope in Los Angeles, says the acquisition opens up the possibility of connecting Cisco’s VoIP offerings to WebEx’s Web conferencing.

“If I was Cisco I’d take the video they already support and their VoIP technology, tie it into WebEx, and bam, you have an unbelievable suite optimized for your organization,” Lynd says. FireScope, which uses WebEx and another online meeting service called GoToMeeting, is a start-up that makes a security information management product.

Lynd calls the acquisition a “tremendous opportunity” for Cisco. “This would be a great extension of the suite,” he says.

WebEx’s primary competitor is Microsoft’s LiveMeeting collaboration service. (See Network World's Q&A with WebEx on how it stacks up against Microsoft.)

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How far does Cisco take collaboration?By NetworkWorld Community on March 15, 2007, 10:43 amAnother example of Cisco moving into collaboration. Re: Cisco to buy WebEx for $3.2 billion. But how far will it go? Does it begin to assemble all these...

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What the blogosphere is saying about the Cisco-WebEx dealBy Cisconet on March 15, 2007, 3:55 pmBloggers are devouring the $3.2 billion Cisco-WebEx deal. First up is a blog by Charlie Giancarlo, Cisco's chief development officer and Linksys president. He...

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WebEx move is smartBy Tom on March 16, 2007, 1:39 pmA smart move by Cisco! We see the acquisition of WebEx as a sign that even a powerhouse like Cisco had not solved the problem of how people can best share and...

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What the blogosphere is saying, Part 2By Cisconet on March 16, 2007, 7:36 pmThe blogosphere Friday is still abuzz with Cisco's surprise $3.2 billion bid for WebEx, with conferencing rivals, industry analysts and tech observers offering...

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Any worries that Cisco will use this for evil purposes?By Anonymous on March 19, 2007, 11:04 amNo doubt that a good percentage of Cisco's "competitors" use WebEx to host their online meetings. Conceivably Cisco could know exactly with whom its competitors...

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Not to worry....By MrCarpenterTech on March 20, 2007, 6:10 pmI find it extremely hard to get excited about a company who has traditionally provided vastly over priced proprietary hardware, based on a stolen operating system,...

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