Cisco snaps up cloud API platform firm Tropo; eyes CPaaS

Cisco has announced its intent to acquire Tropo, a privately-held company that provides cloud API platform. The acquisition will allow Cisco to provide a “collaboration platform-as-a-service” (CPaaS) – which will allow customers and developers to create and sell new communications services with minimal development effort, the networking giant said. [caption id=“attachment_1984025” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] “Tropo’s APIs and its 2,00,000 developer network gives Cisco the ability to extend the power of its collaboration technologies to third-party applications and end-points,” Cisco added. Tropo’s technology will enable developers to build applications that integrate into the service provider’s existing communications infrastructure, providing the service provider with an advantage over OTT competitors and ways to generate new sources of revenue. Tropo’s platform can provide voice calls as well as SMSes. The Tropo team will join Cisco’s Collaboration Technology Group under the leadership of Rowan Trollope, SVP and general manager. “We look forward to bringing Tropo’s unique communications platform as a service as a key component into Cisco’s cloud collaboration platform.Together, we will help extend the Cisco platform to third party endpoints and applications via modern APIs and enable Cisco to better serve the developer community.” The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015.