2008 Year in Review: Consolidation in the IP communications industry

At press time, we await the official word from BroadSoft on its acquisition of Sylantro, an end-of-year cap to a steady stream of deals that took place over the course of 2008. 

A good chunk of this year's M&A activity was driven by tightening credit (see BroadSoft/Sylantro). Investors were unwilling to throw more money at companies that didn't appear to have any hope of breaking black anytime soon, forcing a number of companies to find a marriage before they ended up in bankruptcy proceedings. 

Cisco and Oracle continued their devouring ways, while Dialogic and GENBAND pursued their business strategies of growth through rollups. Looking back, we were a bit surprised by EXFO getting into the acquisition game, but we can't argue with who they brought.   

If Santa is looking for something to put in the FierceVoIP stocking on December 25, it's the story behind the GENBAND/NextPoint acquisition. How much did GENBAND pay for the company? Did Dialogic pursue NextPoint and bow out due to the price tag? Were there any other suitors for NextPoint? 

The biggest curveball out of 2008 was the out-of-nowhere purchase of VoIP and Video SIP service provider SightSpeed by PC-peripheral manufacturer Logitech. But we understand why the combination of video technology development expertise and recurring revenues would be attractive. Combine SightSpeed's service with Logitech's potential for global marketing to make for some interesting growth potential. 

Jabber punches up Cisco's UC effort - FierceTelecom
GENBAND adds NextPoint - FierceTelecom
BroadSoft acquiring Sylantro - The impact - FierceVoIP
EXFO to acquire IPTV tester Brix Networks - FierceTelecom
Dialogic devours NMS hardware biz - FierceTelecom
Dialogic Corporation Acquires OpenMediaLabs' Business
Logitech buys SightSpeed for $30M - FierceVoIP
Green Wednesday - VoIP mergers and acquisitions of 2008