Cisco (CSCO) Announces the Buyouts of Slido And IMImobile

Cisco Systems CSCO recently announced the acquisition of Slido s.r.o. for an undisclosed amount to augment Webex experience.

Founded in 2012, Slido is a privately-held start-up that specializes in improving audience interaction during meetings and events for its clients. The technology company also specializes in management of Q&A sessions, word clouds, surveys, dynamic polling and quizzes, among others.

In a blog post, Cisco added that with the audience interaction technology from Slido incorporated with Webex, meeting organisers will be able to obtain critical inputs in real time during the meetings as well as before and after the meetings along from events like townhall and all-hands sessions.

Cisco Systems, Inc. Price and Consensus

 

Cisco Systems, Inc. Price and Consensus

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Slido’s technology will also enable meeting presenters to create engaging experiences for all participants by holding dynamic Q&A sessions and polling and utilizing graphic visual representations to present clear picture of the results, added the company.

Slido is headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia and boasts of 7 million monthly participants.

Cisco Working on Webex to Gain Competitive Edge

COVID-19 induced remote work trend spurred demand for teleconferencing, workspace collaboration and telehealth services, leading to robust adoption of video meeting and conferencing solutions.

With the vaccine still some time away, the work from home trend is unlikely to dissipate and this will benefit video conferencing market. Per Fortune Business Insights’ report, worldwide video conferencing market is likely to witness a CAGR of 9.7% between 2020 and 2027 and reach $10.92 billion in revenues.

Cisco is strengthening its Webex communication platform with new added features and acquisitions to fortify its competitive position in this lucrative market against Zoom Video Communications ZM and Microsoft’s MSFT Teams app.

Prior to the Slido buyout announcement, in September 2020, Cisco acquired noise removal technology expert, BabbleLabs for an undisclosed amount. BabbleLabs leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect and wipe out background noises, in real time, to boost video communication experience. In 2019, Cisco had acquired Voicea, which added AI-powered transcription feature to Webex solutions.

Cisco has also teamed up with Alphabet’s GOOGL Google G Suite to offer inter-operability between Webex and Hangouts.

IMImobile Acquisition to Boost Customer Experience

Cisco also announced the buyout of U.K.-based IMImobile PLC in a deal worth $730 million to boost its Customer Experience as a Service (CXaaS) offerings.

The company stated  that with addition of IMImobile’s customer experience solutions, it intends to provide an end-to-end customer interaction management offering that will allow enterprises for smarter and speedier orchestrations as well as interactions with customers on their preferred sales channel.

IMImobile is a cloud-based communications software and services’ provider that enables enterprises to improve customer interactions across variety of outlets including social media, while always remaining connected to customers.

The acquisition, subject to regulatory and customary approval, is slated to conclude in the first quarter of 2021.

Post the buyout, IMImobile will team up with Cisco’s Contact Center division, which in turn, is a part of Cisco Collaboration business.

At present, Cisco carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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