Category Archives: cloud based collaboration

Cisco, cloud based collaboration, News & Analysis, partnership, Telco Cloud, Verizon

Cisco and Verizon team up to launch Cisco Spark

Cisco corporateCisco is expanding its partnership with Verizon Enterprise Solutions to offer its new cloud-based collaboration service, Cisco Spark, to Verizon’s customer base.

The announcement builds on continued efforts from Verizon to bolster its range next-generation collaboration solutions, which already includes offers such as Cisco WebEx Cloud Connected Audio, Collaboration Meeting Room and Verizon’s UCCaaS Mobile First service.

The new joint offer will deliver Spark Message and Spark Meet features integrated with Verizon’s business collaboration services. The ultimate goal of the partnership will be to develop a service delivered in such a manner that customers are unable to differentiate between the Cisco and Verizon components. While currently available in the US, the service will be available to enterprise and government customers worldwide towards the end of the year.

Cisco has also announced the allocation of $150 million to the Cisco Spark for Developers Fund to generate new ideas for the ecosystem. The fund will cover direct investments, joint development, additional enhancements and developer support.

Verizon has been making considerable efforts over the last 12 months to increase its cloud-based communications offerings, to meet the demands of an increasingly mobile and collaborative workforce. With enterprise increasingly searching for opportunities to create a more productive working environment, software- and cloud-based offerings which enable employees to work in the office, from home or on the road, are quickly becoming the norm.

“Verizon is a leader in delivering global, mobile-enabled unified communications solutions to our business and government clients,” said Bob Minai, Executive Director, Advanced Communications at Verizon. “By integrating Cisco Spark meeting and messaging capabilities into Verizon’s collaboration portfolio and global network, Verizon and Cisco will continue to help enterprise clients with digital transformation initiatives that drive better customer experiences and meaningful, measurable business outcomes.”

The partnership continues Verizon’s trend of collaborative business, following up on last month’s announcement that it would be teaming up HyperOffice. As part of the agreement, HyperOffice would distribute its Share.to communications suite from Verizon Cloud infrastructure. Primarily, the tool will enable employees to work alongside freelancers, customers and other stakeholders all using different collaboration tools that need to work together.

Chris Battlers, Citrix, cloud based collaboration, Don Schiavone, Grasshopper, M&A, News & Analysis

Citrix buys Grasshopper to strengthen cloud-based comms

Citrix is buying Grasshopper to bolster its cloud-based comms offerings for SMEs

Citrix is buying Grasshopper to bolster its cloud-based collaboration offerings for SMEs

Citrix has acquired Grasshopper Group, a provider of cloud-based communications services, for an undisclosed sum.

Grasshopper offers a cloud-based corporate communications suite that allows firms to set up corporate phone directories with toll-free numbers, voicemail and all. Users can add departments and employee extensions, and incoming calls can be forwarded to mobile or home phone lines or skype accounts.

The company’s pitch is that it can offer companies – particularly those that work across multiple offices without any particular HQ – the ability to stand up a corporate coms telephony system without having to invest in a PBX box or any other expensive legacy kit typically involved with such an endeavour.

Citrix said it Grasshopper will help the company expand its cloud-based collaboration offerings for SMEs.

“With the acquisition we expand the breadth of our communication and collaboration solutions for small businesses, including GoToMeeting, GoToTraining, GoToWebinar, ShareFile and OpenVoice,” said Chris Battlers, vice president of Citrix.

Don Schiavone, chief operating officer of Grasshopper said: “Our team shares the same vision and culture as Citrix, making Citrix the perfect home as we accelerate Grasshopper’s growth. This transaction will allow Grasshopper to align itself with a well-respected leader in collaboration solutions for small businesses.”

The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of this year, and comes the same week Citrix’s virtualisation rival VMware announced the launch of an integrated collaboration suite.