Cisco has completed its $1.4 billion acquisition of Jasper Technologies, pledging to tap into the $4.3 trillion Internet of Things opportunity for service providers.
As an industry-leading cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) service platform, Cisco believes the deal will further enable companies of all sizes to rapidly and cost-effectively launch, manage and monetise IoT services on a global scale.
“With the acquisition, Jasper forms the new IoT Cloud Business Unit within Cisco,” says Rowan Trollope, SVP and GM of the Internet of Things, Cisco.
“Together, Cisco and Jasper will bring to market a comprehensive IoT service platform to enable service providers, enterprises and ecosystem partners to rapidly build IoT service businesses such as usage-based insurance for connected cars, predictive maintenance for industrial manufacturing, and asset tracking for commercial fleet management.”
Trollope says Cisco and Jasper will continue to deliver on Jasper’s product roadmap and support Jasper’s existing ecosystem partners in 2016 and beyond.
Furthermore, Cisco will also build upon Jasper’s IoT service platform and add new services including advanced IoT security, support for additional connectivity options like enterprise Wi-Fi and low-power wide-area network (LPWAN), and analytics solutions.
“With the Jasper IoT service platform, Cisco can enable companies to automate the management of IoT services across connected devices,” Trollope adds.
“Now, enterprises will be able to transform their products into connected services, creating new business models and generating new sources of ongoing revenue.”
Service Provider acceleration
Today, service providers are vying for a slice of the forecasted $4.3 trillion IoT opportunity to increase top-line growth.
As such, Trollope believes the breadth and depth of relationships that Cisco and Jasper have with service providers puts the combined company in a “unique position” to help service providers meet the ever-changing IoT needs of their customers.
“Part of the charter of the new IoT Cloud Business Unit is to use Cisco and Jasper’s combined talent and capabilities to address the toughest challenges facing the industry today,” Trollope explains.
Together, Trollope says Cisco and Jasper will make it easier for companies to enter the IoT market, accelerate growth, and enable service providers to help their enterprise customers transform to IoT businesses in the next decade.
“IoT is a key piece of enabling Digital Transformation for today’s enterprises,” adds Carrie MacGillvray, Vice President, Mobile and Internet of Things, IDC.
“Cisco already has the network equipment, cloud, analytics and security layers, and the addition of Jasper brings critical IoT service platform layer needed to provide enterprises with a complete digitisation strategy.
“This acquisition provides value for both Cisco and Jasper’s enterprise customers, their service provider partners and broader IoT ecosystem partners.”
Ecosystem interoperability
Trollope says Cisco and Jasper will provide an industry-wide interoperability platform that ecosystem partners can build on, accelerating the creation and deployment of IoT services by enterprises.
At present, some of the world’s largest IT solution vendors - including IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce and SAP - already integrate with Jasper’s IoT service platform.
“The Jasper platform enables enterprises to quickly integrate technologies from these ecosystem partners to accelerate IoT service deployment,” Trollope adds.
