Cisco Systems Inc has said it plans to buy IMImobile PLC for about US$750 million to add artificial intelligence (AI) software used to help companies manage customer relationships.
The US maker of networking gear is to pay ￡5.95 a share for the UK provider of cloud communications software.
The cash offer, which includes debt, is expected to close in the first quarter, Cisco said in a statement.
Photo: AP
Cisco chief executive officer Chuck Robbins is seeking to recast the company — whose hardware is the backbone of the Internet — as a networking software and services provider. He is responding to an industry-wide shift that has seen more of the functions traditionally provided by in-house hardware migrate to outsourcing offered by remote data centers.
Cisco is seeking to push further into automation to improve the way its customers reach out to their end-users, enabling them to make their pitches and services more effective.
It also wants to add those capabilities to its customer-relationship management offerings.
With IMImobile, it sees an opportunity to use AI software to automate the outreach process more effectively than is currently possible.
For example, it would help customers channel their offerings into the approach that they prefer, such as through text messages, social media or a voice call.
Another instance would be to provide a company representative with more contextual information about the customer they are dealing with to make sure that they tailor that interaction in a way that the customer wants.
“A great customer relationship is built on consistently enjoyable interactions where every touchpoint on every channel is an opportunity for businesses to deliver rich, engaging and intuitive experiences,” Cisco senior vice president Jeetu Patel said in the statement.
The acquisition adds to a growing list of deals as technology companies seek to strengthen their AI capabilities.
A week ago, ServiceNow Inc said that it would buy Canadian start-up Element AI Inc, marking the software maker’s fourth AI-related acquisition this year.
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said second-quarter revenue is expected to surpass the first quarter, which rose 30 percent year-on-year to NT$118.92 billion (US$3.71 billion). Revenue this quarter is likely to grow, as US clients have front-loaded orders ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Taiwanese goods, Delta chairman Ping Cheng (鄭平) said at an earnings conference in Taipei, referring to the 90-day pause in tariff implementation Trump announced on April 9. While situations in the third and fourth quarters remain unclear, “We will not halt our long-term deployments and do not plan to
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
RSS