Cisco is preparing to tackle Internet of Things (IoT) with its purchase of Tropo, which offers cloud-based API platforms.
On Thursday, May 7, Cisco revealed that it was acquiring six-year-old California-based company Tropo to enable it to address the growing need of next-gen communication systems.
Thanks to the acquisition, Cisco will be able to offer a "collaboration platform-as-a-service" (CPaaS). This, in turn, will enable both developers and consumers to sell and develop new communication services with negligible developmental effort.
"Tropo's robust APIs and its 200K+-strong developer network gives Cisco the ability to extend the power of its collaboration technologies to third-party applications and end-points," noted Cisco's Hilton Romanski in a blog post.
Moreover, Tropo's technological prowess will allow developers to create apps that can integrate seamlessly into current communication infrastructure of the service provider. This will not only give the service provider an edge over other OTT rivals, but also provide ways of generating new income sources.
For those worried about Tropo changing post the acquisition — there's no need to fret. The acquisition will only make it fortify its platform.
"Just about every Tropo product you know and love is here to stay and will continue to get better. And with a bigger team you'll see a lot more of us at conferences and on the Tropo blog with sample apps and new ways to monetize your creations," notes the company.
While the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, Tropo's staff is expected to join Cisco's Collaboration Technology Group, which is headed by Rowan Trollope, SVP and GM.
Whether Cisco will continue to stick to Tropo's pricing format — whereby the product is offered for free to developers, but every communication made via the platform is chargeable — is not clear.
The deal is anticipated to close in Q4 of FY15.
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