Last week, Cisco raised an objection to the Microsoft acquisition of Skype, saying it would hurt video conferencing interoperability — even though, in this space, you could argue Cisco is not the poster child for interoperability. Coincidently, I met with the CEO of LifeSize, and he saw this Microsoft acquisition as a huge opportunity. LifeSize is the poster child for video-conferencing interoperability. So why would Cisco complain about a move and highlight something it doesn’t do as a reason to block it, while LifeSize would applaud the same move?
Great story, Rob! I am a BIG fan of Skype and LifeSize for corporate/enterprise video. And then you really had me when you wrote about the R8...now I'm a big fan of your's!
Cisco has its own interop issues, but why do you (or LifeSize) believe that Microsoft/Skype will play nice if not forced? Microsoft has a bit of a track record of leveraging their platform position to block competitors; this greatly enhances the possibility of a single vendor "owning" the space and trying to block (or succeeding in blocking) others from entering by refusing the interop with them.
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Cisco Chews Up the Scenery in the Interoperability Drama
Posted by: Rob Enderle February 20, 2012 05:00 AMLast week, Cisco raised an objection to the Microsoft acquisition of Skype, saying it would hurt video conferencing interoperability — even though, in this space, you could argue Cisco is not the poster child for interoperability. Coincidently, I met with the CEO of LifeSize, and he saw this Microsoft acquisition as a huge opportunity. LifeSize is the poster child for video-conferencing interoperability. So why would Cisco complain about a move and highlight something it doesn’t do as a reason to block it, while LifeSize would applaud the same move?