October 26, 2006

Cisco acquires Orative, a Unified Communications company for $31 million..

Cisco said Thursday it had acquired Orative in a move designed to extend its Unified Communications offering to cell and smart phones. The San Jose, Calif. based company produces an application that allows Cisco customers to use the platform on these devices. With the software, users can access the Cisco Unified CallManager, Cisco MeetingPlace collaboration application and Cisco Unity voicemail products.

Subject to regulatory approval, the acquisition is expected close in Cisco's second fiscal quarter. "The Orative acquisition will allow Cisco to further deliver on its promise of extending the Unified Communications experience from the network services to mobile devices," Cisco voice technology senior vice president Don Proctor said in the announcement.