Cisco has agreed to acquire Tandberg, the videoconferencing specialist based in Norway, for around $3bn. Cisco has long targeted video conferencing, or telepresence, as a major growth opportunity, and also sees a mass consumer market for home telepresence solutions in the longer term. The Tandberg move will boost Cisco’s position in the global corporate telepresence market, which has been a growth segment in recent years, and not just because companies are cutting back on travel. Our main interest, of course, is the emergence of consumer telepresence solutions and other emerging media businesses. Cisco states that it hopes the Tandberg group, which will become the Telepresence Technology Group within the Emerging Technologies Group at Cisco, will drive video innovation. We look forward to hearing how Tandberg will drive further innovation in the critical video element in Cisco’s strategy. Twitter: twitter.com/DavidMercer_SA Client Reading: Digital Media Devices Global Market Report