Cisco to acquire WebEx, and join the Saas bandwagon

Cisco systems, the leading computer networking supplier, announces plans to buy WebEx web-based company for $3.2 billion. WebEx is the undisputed king of web-conferencing services, and includes the powerful WebOffice application suite. The latter offers Calendar, Email and Spreadsheet programs. By acquiring WebEx, this can be interpreted as Cisco’s bold move to venture into the growing trend the of Saas (Software-as-a-Service) realm. At the same time, Cisco has invested heavily in developing intelligent networks for next-generation applications. In addition to these, Cisco has its MeetingPlace and Unified Communications products. It is now apparent that Cisco will combine its cutting edge Unified communications platform with its desktop collaboration packages. In the process, this will make it an influential Saas provider and a formidable competitor to Microsoft and Google. Microsoft may have a hard time adjusting to Saas, especially when its competitors can offer the services at no cost. Microsoft is able to provide unified communications and collaboration services, but the same cannot be said of Office applications.
Meanwhile, Cisco is aiming to expand the desktop collaboration applications to small and mid-sized markets. The best way to accomplish is via a web-hosted model.