Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] today announced its acquisition of Pingtel Corp.’s business. U.S.-based Pingtel** is a designer of software-based unified communications solutions and is owned by Bluesocket Inc**, an enterprise mobility solutions provider. Pingtel will provide new software capabilities to Nortel’s enterprise unified communications portfolio, as well as additional research and development capabilities. This transaction brings Pingtel’s existing original equipment manufacturer (OEM) relationship with Nortel in-house.
Under the terms of the agreement, Nortel will acquire the key assets of Pingtel from Bluesocket Inc. Financial terms were not disclosed. Pingtel employees will be integrated into Nortel’s Billerica, Massachusetts facilities.
"This acquisition is another building block in Nortel’s vision to be a software-centric company and the leading provider of unified communications solutions" said David Downing, general manager, Enterprise and SMB Communications Systems, Nortel. "We believe that bringing Pingtel’s critical R&D capabilities in-house will enable us to further develop software-based solutions that go beyond the boundaries of our previous OEM relationship. We expect that this will enable Nortel to accelerate the development of new IT-centric channels to market"
"Pingtel has established itself as a unified communications vendor with market-leading, very sophisticated solutions based on interoperable software that can run on a multitude of hardware platforms" said Martin Steinmann, senior vice president, marketing at Pingtel. Steinmann has joined Nortel as part of the transaction and will take on an expanded role in business development for next generation solutions and new routes to market in the small to medium business segment. "The acquisition of Pingtel Corp. by Nortel is the next logical step that will further accelerate adoption of the technology and solutions on a global basis. We are very excited to become part of Nortel, the leading provider in the market for unified communications" says Steinmann.
Nortel will use the software capabilities to further its leadership to deliver unified communications solutions to enterprise customers of all segments. In the near term, Pingtel will bring critical software elements to Nortel’s small-to-medium business (SMB) unified communications solution based on the Nortel Software Communication System 500 (SCS500). These solutions integrate communications like email, IM and conferencing with applications, increasing productivity and streamlining business operations. Pingtel brings intellectual property, R&D capabilities and its senior management to Nortel. The company has been a leading provider of SIP-based Enterprise Communications Systems and a strategic software supplier to Nortel.
Over a year ago Nortel joined the open source community established by SIPfoundry** as an active contributor to the sipXecs open source project (led by Pingtel Corp), providing more than 300 new applications and features to date. The acquisition of Pingtel Corp by Nortel will further accelerate the development of a global open source ecosystem and reinforce Nortel’s direction and leadership in the development of interoperable and open unified communications solutions.
Source: Nortel
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