Sorry to see you go Sunil

http://phoenix.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=112660&p=irol-SECText&TEXT=aHR0cDovL2NjYm4uMTBrd2l6YXJkLmNvbS94bWwvZmlsaW5nLnhtbD9yZXBvPXRlbmsmaXBhZ2U9NjYyNjM1MiZhdHRhY2g9T04mc1hCUkw9MQ%3d%3d

"On November 25, 2009, Polycom, Inc. (“Polycom” or the “Company”) entered into a Severance Agreement with Sunil K. Bhalla, the Company’s former Senior Vice President and General Manager, Voice Communications Solutions. Pursuant to the terms of the Severance Agreement, Mr. Bhalla will resign his employment with the Company effective the earlier of (1) February 28, 2010 or (2) the date on which Mr. Bhalla commences a full-time job for another employer prior to February 28, 2010. During the interim period, Mr. Bhalla will no longer serve as an officer of the Company and will be on paid time off and notice through February 28, 2010, or such earlier date upon which Mr. Bhalla commences a full-time job for another employer. Robert C. Hagerty, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, will continue Mr. Bhalla’s duties as Interim General Manager of the Voice Division.

Pursuant to the terms of the Severance Agreement. Mr. Bhalla (1) will receive a severance payment in the amount of $326,667 (equivalent to approximately 10 months’ base salary), less applicable withholdings, payable in two installments; (2) will receive executive outplacement services for a period of twelve months, which are valued at approximately $9,500; and (3) has agreed to a non-solicitation of Polycom employees provision for a period of one year following the termination of his employment."

Everyone that knew Sunil certainly liked him.  Its too bad he is leaving under these circumstances. I hope he lands somewhere quickly and makes it through whatever issues he is going through.

Kudos to the taa shareholders

Wow...again...wow! I honestly thought it was a bluff. Who in their mind would want to try to bluff Cisco to increasing the bid for a buyout...but they did. CSCO's M&A is very successful. They've bought at least 100 companies:

http://investor.cisco.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=424298

Lets say, they are no dummies. but...looks like CSCO is giving up another 400M.

I honestly thought that CSCO would walk away and call their bluff. You have to look at it this way, they are going to buy another 100 companies...TAA is just one of many... when this is your MO, you cant show fear. This deal could affect not only how CSCO prices acquiring companies, but also how acquired companies will negotiate for years to come. That $400M could turn into $Bs of dollars in extra costs for future acquisitions.

HP Buys 3COM!

M&A activity is way up!  Sometimes it blurs between what I blog and conversations I have with people. I certainly have been predicting that HP would do something. I thought it was going to be video related first. Tell you..I also figured that when HP did something, it would be Brocade!  It would have gotten HP both a SAN solution and a core Ethernet switch solution.

I'm not saying 3com is bad..in fact, its pretty damn interesting.  HP now has core ethernet, edge routing, core routing, security, and ip telephony.  Wow!  

I'd like to make one overall prediction across the board.  The fight is on for everyone to have end to end technology solutions. The race is on between Cisco, HP, IBM, Dell, Oracle.  I'm still confused about Microsoft and I think they might be too.  Sure..they're staying out of hardware...but everyone seems to betting big on hardware. This happens to be totally opposite of what the VC community is funding right now...all they want to fund is software and cloud.  So...specifics as to who marries who will change...but expect more of this.  Expect people who dont have storage, to buy storage. Expect people who don't have UC to buy UC.

The name of the game is bulk and breadth of solution!  I fully expect that we soon will only be standing with a few "startups" in the video space.  TAA will be gobbled up. PLCM will be gobbled up. Vidyo will be gobbled up.

Wait and watch!

New Cisco Video Phones

Cisco announced new video phones:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10453/index.html?POSITION=sl&COUNTRY_SITE=us&CAMPAIGN=IP+Phone+9900+Series&CREATIVE=Launch+Landing+Page&REFERRING_SITE=CISCO.COM+INDEX

They dont look like OEMs of the E20 from TAA.  They actually look similiar to the Aethra Maia
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10453/index.html?POSITION=sl&COUNTRY_SITE=us&CAMPAIGN=IP+Phone+9900+Series&CREATIVE=Launch+Landing+Page&REFERRING_SITE=CISCO.COM+INDEX

I know, most of us in the US dont pay attention to Aethra...but the Maia is actually a pretty sweet phone with the ability for a soho user to have one device on their desk. it supports voice, video, sip, h323, and even pots!

Anyway...seems most people have not latched on to desktop video phones..but all of the mfgs are all focused on driving adoption.  I honestly think that products like these could become very popular...but not until the vast populace gets more comfortable with being on video. (which I think they are)

Android

This might seem a bit out of place...but I've got a great interest in the Android operating system. I, of course, got the T-Mobile G1 on the day it came out over a year ago. Then bought one of my daughters a MyTouch just a month ago.  Its a great OS and a great phone and certainly puts iPhones to shame!

Why bring this up in this blog?  Well..my thoughts are that Android could certainly be utilized as a platform for video conferencing systems.  It could be google that does it or it could be a third party.  Talk about have a rich operating platform to build a communcations system around!

Watch for someone to come out with something.

Logitech buys LifeSize

here's the press release!

http://www.lifesize.com/en/Company/News_and_Events/Press_Releases/2009/Logitech_to_Acquire_LifeSize.aspx

I have to say...pretty shocking. Both from whom is buying them...but also for how much. $400M!  Talk about cheap.  I think the rumors I had heard previously were that they & Cisco were talking about $1B.

Also....not from a money perspective..but from a perceived value standpoint, it seems weird that a pc peripherals company known for making cheap webcams bought a enterprise video communications company. Its like the mouse eating the cat.  Sure..this mouse was big and the cat was small..but it just seems weird.

I wonder how it will turn out?  Will Logitech make LS the flagship of the company and totally remake themselves? or will LS stay as an appendage doing their own thing. I guess we'll have to find out!

But...as I've said... the market is ripe for consolidation.  BTW... hey Michael Dell... man, you missed out!!! If $400M was the price..you could have picked up LS and really made a killing...as well as having an easy time doing the integration.  You could have picked up LS and made them move the 30minutes to the Round Rock campus and no one would have complained.  And...you could have used your online talent to market the hell out of the solutions.

Maybe...we'll have a two tier buy?  anyone want to take bets on HP buying Logitech?

Disclosure

If you're into watching financial and business news, you're probably keeping an eye on the Galleon case. Today's article was likening some of the activities as very James Bond-ish with disposable cell phones and secret code names.

Anyway...made me think if anyone wonders whats in it for me?  Since the dot bomb I've kept away from trading individual stocks. Yeah...ho hum..boring. I guess I have better things to do and I also realized that several years ago that I cant compete anyways with wall street. But in case you're wondering about my holdings I own the following:

EWA
ILF
XLE
FCNTX
FLPSX
DODFX
FFFEX


Thats pretty much it.  No CSCO.  No PLCM.  No RVSN.  
The rest is in even more boring real estate!

Customized Telepresence

I guess it was bound to happen... someone wanting to buy a TP system but have it fit different specs than the pre-made units.  I first heard earlier last week that Cisco has a group that will customized changes to your TP system...but now I see that Polycom does too: (i could not find anything on CSCO's website that said they have the service)

http://www.polycom.com/products/telepresence_video/telepresence_solutions/immersive_telepresence/atx.html

Its kind of funny that things come full circle.  Telepresence really started out as tubro charged AV integration...then it productized..and now they are offering integration. I guess thats just evolution for you.

Anohter PC company entering the fray?

Well, I just heard a pretty strong rumor that another PC company is going to enter the frey of the video conferencing market.  I know the name...but I thought twice about posting their name because they are known to be litigious against bloggers (maybe thats enough of a hint anyway).  The only thing specific I've heard is that the design is not based on DSPs but on a less costly hardware design.  Yes...and let me state...I've specifically heard its a room system....not software to run on an existing PC.

It either will give them a very low COGS and thus great margin...or potentially they'll come in at a dirt cheap price.  I've also heard that the design is going to be very elegant, and very simple.  It sounds like they are directly targeting "greenfield" video conferencing markets.  Most likely hip and trendy younger crowd that today probably uses Skype and wishes for something better.