November 10th, 2009
Logitech Buys LifeSize. Now what about Polycom?
A few weeks after Cisco’s Tandberg acquisition, peripheral manufacturer Logitech has announced that it was acquiring LifeSize for $405 million in cash. LifeSize provides high definition (HD) video communication solutions.
The video acquistion positions Logitech with a comnplete range of video conferencing equipment. Last year, the company acquired SightSpeed, a provider of video conferencing for consumers and business, pointed out Jon Arnold, an independent analyst.
The move will push Logitech into new markets. “We expect this acquisition to enable Logitech to extend our leadership in video communication beyond the desktop,” said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive officer in a statment.
“Together we can make life-like, HD-quality video communication as mainstream and seamless as a telephone, for meeting participants in the boardroom, at their office desk, in a remote-location meeting room, telecommuting from home or on the go with a laptop.”
Putting video-conferencing everywhere will require more than low-cost cameras or great quality video. It’ll require software infrastructure that can cross the firewalls and NATs of today’s homes, which have confounded so many networked applications in the past. The software will also need to have a large enough customer base for people to use with their video. LifeSize addressed that probelm a month ago when it announced the first Skype=compatible Telepresence system.
The big question will be about Polycom who remains effectively the last of the major videoconferencing suppliers. You can read more here.
David Greenfield is the principal in STAnalytics. a global technology-marketing consultancy where he advises enterprises on emerging technologies. See David Greenfield's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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