Cisco to acquire Danish video technology company DiviTech for undisclosed sum

Cisco Systems Inc, the largest manufacturer of routers and switches that directs internet traffic, said yesterday that it plans to buy Danish digital video technology company DiviTech, aiming to boost its expansion from network equipment to software and video, for an undisclosed sum.

DiviTech is a leader in the digital-service management (DSM) market and offers media broadcasters, cable and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service providers an intuitive interface for creating, modifying and managing video networks.

Its DSM technology includes a software application that will allow service provider customers to centrally provision and easily deliver localised content, such as local and regional news and on-demand video and services, within a specific geography.

Cisco plans to integrate DiviTech's DSM product with its own ROSA network- and element-management solution to create an end-to-end platform that offers all layers of digital video management (element, network and service) in a single modular product.

Upon the close of the acquisition, planned in the last quarter of this fiscal, Cisco plans to integrate DiviTech into its 'digital media' business unit as part of the 'service provider video technology group'. DiviTech employees will move into Cisco's Copenhagen facility.

"DiviTech provides Cisco with a core team of some of the most talented engineers in the DSM market," said Dean Rockwell, vice president and general manager of the digital media business unit in Cisco's service provider video technology group. "DiviTech's DSM platform will serve as the foundation for Cisco's continued leadership in next-generation management tools and applications for complex video networks."

Cisco's product portfolio now includes cable set-top boxes from Scientific-Atlanta, which it acquired in 2006, as well as web conferencing services from WebEx, which it bought last year. DiviTech marks Cisco's 128th acquisition, and comes after other recent acquisitions in the video market, including Arroyo and Tivella.