Cisco to acquire PostPath for $215 million

Cisco Systems announced Wednesday plans to acquire e-mail and calendaring software maker PostPath in a $215 million deal.

The acquisition, which is scheduled to close by the end of October, is designed to bolster Cisco's collaboration portfolio by including PostPath's Linux-based e-mail and calendaring software with Cisco's "software as a service" platform.

Cisco's collaborative platform includes instant messaging, voice, video, data, document management, and Web 2.0 applications. PostPath will be folded into Cisco's Collaboration Software Group.

"The acquisition of PostPath complements our strategy to develop an integrated collaboration platform designed for how we work today and into the future, providing real productivity gains and a more satisfying user experience," Doug Dennerline, Cisco's Collaboration Software Group senior vice president, said in a statement.

Over the past two years, Cisco has focused on the collaboration market, with CEO John Chambers touting it as the next wave of innovation in the technology arena.

A major piece of that effort has been Cisco's last year. PostPath's technology will be used to enhance the current e-mail and calendaring capabilities of the WebEx Connect collaboration platform.

[richijennings]

Once again, Cisco makes a sound investment in an email technology vendor. Just like it did with IronPort. Great choice.

More analysis at richijennings.com.

[Tony Rybczynski Nortel]

It's going to get interesting as the battle brews between Cisco and Microsoft. Cisco just hit a sensitive 'Exchange nerve' at Microsoft. No love lost between these two is an understatement.

http://blog.tmcnet.com/the-hyperconnected-enterprise/cisco-microsoft-meaningful-uc-unterop-increasingly-unlikely.asp