[Asterisk-Users] Linksys/Cisco buys Sipura

[Brian Leyton]

David Boyd wrote:
> 
> In 1998 Cisco purchased a company called Summa Four for $116 
> Million, and left them to die on the vine. It all depends on 
> what they (Cisco ) want from the transaction.  If Sipura has 
> a part in causing a drop in Cisco revenue due to adoption by 
> the Open source community, then they may well buy the company 
> to shut it down.
> 
> 
> Time will tell!

Well, I tend to think that Sipura's products will come out ahead here.  For
example, when Cisco bought Linksys, one might have expected them to cripple
or shut them down - after all, Linksys makes routers, and Cisco makes
routers.  Obviously that didn't happen, because Cisco saw an opportunity in
having a "low-end" SOHO product line, and a high-end "enterprise" line.  I
think the same will happen with Sipura.

Cisco makes excellent, well-designed, but expensive IP phones.  Sipura makes
good low-end products.  Despite the fact that you can pick up a router at
most any electronics or office supply store for $20, Linksys continues to be
successful.  I see no reason that Sipura won't do the same, in the face of
the imminent flood of cheap IP phones.  Assuming that Cisco gives them the
money and room to innovate.

It wouldn't really make any sense for Cisco to grab Sipura's technology and
shut them down, since there are already several companies producing similar
products, and I guarantee there will be many more.  There's no way that
Cisco can put this genie back in the bottle.

Brian Leyton
IT Manager
Commercial Petroleum Equipment