LifeSize slams Cisco/Tandberg’s products as ‘overpriced and inflexible’ in wake of $3bn acquisition

In news that is set to reverberate around the AV industry for some time to come, Craig Malloy, founder and CEO of LifeSize Communications, was among the first to add his opinion to Cisco’s acquisition of Norwegian video conferencing manufacturer Tandberg.  ‘After nearly 20 years of building businesses in this industry, it’s clear that customers expect video communications to become an accessible, everyday communications tool for all individuals across the organization, not just a very expensive board-room application. The future of the industry – and what LifeSize is delivering – is solutions that deliver the telepresence experience to anyone, everywhere. It is a bit surprising that Cisco would invest where video communications has been versus where the industry is going.’

READ PETER LLOYD’S THOUGHTS ON CISCO BUYING TANDBERG HERE

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‘For LifeSize, the company that pioneered HD video communications, this acquisition presents a tremendous opportunity. Cisco’s acquisition of Tandberg further clarifies the options for customers: overpriced, inflexible, board room-centric infrastructure systems from Cisco/Tandberg or solutions from LifeSize that are designed for mainstream applications and accessible for any budget. Even with this acquisition, LifeSize remains the only vendor offering immersive HD video that’s within reach of any organisation – from high-end telepresence suites to sub-$2500 HD video conferencing systems in offices and small conference rooms.’