Metaswitch

Last updated

Metaswitch Networks
Type Subsidiary
Industry Telecommunications
Founded1981;42 years ago (1981)
FounderIan S. Ferguson
FateAcquired by Microsoft on 15 July 2020
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Number of locations
11 (2019)
Key people
  • Martin Lund (CEO)
  • Tom Cronan (CFO)
  • Ian Maclean (CMO)
  • Roger Heinz (CSO)
  • Dave Reekie (Chief Scientist)
  • Martin Taylor (CTO)
ProductsVirtualized software for service providers, network protocol stacks for equipment manufacturers
Number of employees
700 ±50 (2011)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Parent Microsoft
Website www.metaswitch.com
Footnotes /references
[1] [2] [3] [4]

Metaswitch Networks is a private UK-based company that was acquired by Microsoft in July 2020. Metaswitch Networks designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed telecommunications software to communication service providers, equipment manufacturers, and large enterprises.

Contents

Corporate history

Metaswitch head office in Enfield, UK Metaswitch office, Enfield, UK.jpg
Metaswitch head office in Enfield, UK

Metaswitch (formerly Data Connection Ltd) was founded in 1981 by seven former IBM employees led by Ian Ferguson, who remained on the board of directors until the company's acquisition by Microsoft. [2] [3] [5] [6] The company's earliest business areas included IBM Systems Network Architecture (SNA) and retail point of sale systems. In the 1990s, the company began developing network protocol software. [2]

In 2000, the company launched the Metaswitch brand, which provided softswitches and network management systems designed to enable telephone service providers to migrate to Voice over IP (VoIP) networks while still supporting legacy telephone technologies. [2] By 2008, the Metaswitch division was responsible for 78% of the company's revenue. [7]

In April 2009, the company announced intentions to consolidate all of its products and business operations under the Metaswitch brand, with two business units: the Carrier Systems Division and Network Protocol Division. [8] In October 2009, the company rebranded itself as Metaswitch Networks, to reflect the growing focus on the products and services that it sells to telephone service providers. [9]

In August 2011, the company formally changed its name from Data Connection Ltd to Metaswitch Networks Ltd. [10]

In July 2014, the company moved some of its software to open-source with the launch of Project Calico. [11] Project Calico was subsequently spun out into an independent startup, Tigera, Inc., with Andy Randall (formerly the general manager of Metaswitch’s Networking Business Unit) as CEO. [12]

In May 2020, Microsoft announced a definitive agreement to acquire Metaswitch Networks. [13] [14] On 15 July 2020, the acquisition was completed. [14] [15]

Acquisitions

In March 2010, the firm acquired AppTrigger Inc, a provider of service broker software in Richardson, Texas. [16] In April 2011, it acquired Colibria AS, a provider of Rich Communication Suite (RCS) software in Oslo, Norway. [17] In February 2017, Metaswitch acquired OpenCloud Ltd, a provider of an open mobile services platform. [18]

Ownership and investors

In 1987, Metaswitch established the Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) to hold shares of the company on behalf of the employees, which enabled company-wide profit sharing. [19] [20]

In January 2008 Francisco Partners, a private equity firm, and Sequoia Capital, a venture capitalist firm, invested an undisclosed sum in Metaswitch. [21] [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cisco</span> American multinational technology company

Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, software, telecommunications equipment and other high-technology services and products. Cisco specializes in specific tech markets, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), domain security, videoconferencing, and energy management with leading products including Webex, OpenDNS, Jabber, Duo Security, and Jasper. Cisco is one of the largest technology companies in the world, ranking 82nd on the Fortune 100 with over $51 billion in revenue and nearly 83,300 employees.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for voice calls for the delivery of voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citrix Systems</span> American software company

Citrix Systems, Inc. is an American multinational cloud computing and virtualization technology company that provides server, application and desktop virtualization, networking, software as a service (SaaS), and cloud computing technologies. Citrix products were claimed to be in use by over 400,000 clients worldwide, including 99% of the Fortune 100, and 98% of the Fortune 500.

Vonage is an American cloud communications provider operating as a subsidiary of Ericsson. Headquartered in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, the organization was founded in 1998 as Min-X as a provider of residential telecommunications services based on voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). In 2001, the organization changed its name to Vonage.

The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), also known as the "Digital Telephony Act," is a United States wiretapping law passed in 1994, during the presidency of Bill Clinton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asterisk (PBX)</span> PBX software

Asterisk is a software implementation of a private branch exchange (PBX). In conjunction with suitable telephony hardware interfaces and network applications, Asterisk is used to establish and control telephone calls between telecommunication endpoints, such as customary telephone sets, destinations on the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and devices or services on voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) networks. Its name comes from the asterisk (*) symbol for a signal used in dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) dialing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft NetMeeting</span> Discontinued videoconferencing software

Microsoft NetMeeting is a discontinued VoIP and multi-point videoconferencing program offered by Microsoft. NetMeeting allows multiple clients to host and join a call that includes video and audio, text chat, application and desktop sharing, and file sharing. It was originally bundled with Internet Explorer 3 and then with Windows versions from Windows 95 to Windows Server 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8x8</span> American provider of Voice over IP products

8x8 Inc. is an American provider of Voice over IP products. Its products include cloud-based voice, contact center, video, mobile and unified communications for businesses. Since 2018, 8x8 manages Jitsi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radvision</span> Israeli telecommunication company

Radvision was a provider of video conferencing solution and enabling products for IP communication developers based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Radvision was acquired by Avaya in June 2012. Spirent Communications acquired Radvision's Technology Business Unit from Avaya in July 2014, to become Spirent Developer Tools Business Unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poly Inc.</span> American multinational corporation

Poly, formerly Polycom, a part of HP Inc., is an American multinational corporation that develops video, voice and content collaboration and communication technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aricent</span> Former company

Aricent was a global design and engineering services company. It was acquired by French-based company Altran in 2018 and renamed Altran North America in April 2019 and Altran Americas in early 2020. With Altran's acquisition by Capgemini, the successors of Aricent are incorporated into Capgemini Engineering and to a lesser extent, Capgemini Invent. Aricent has a long lasting legacy of developing Telecom software which are used by all telecom giants such as Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, Nokia Networks, Oracle, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, and Nortel.

snom

Snom Technology GmbH is a German company which manufactures Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephones, based on the IETF standard Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Snom's products are targeted at the small- to medium-sized business sector, home offices, Internet service providers, carriers, and original equipment manufacturers. The company, founded in 1996 and headquartered in Berlin, is a wholly owned subsidiary of VTech Holdings Limited, since 2016.

TouchWave, Inc., was a privately held Palo Alto, California IP-telephony network switch provider founded in 1997. TouchWave developed a product line called WebSwitch that was designed to replace traditional private telephone exchange systems in small-to-medium-sized companies. WebSwitch was part of a phone system that incorporates communication features provided by the Internet. The rapid success of TouchWave was memorialized with awards and an acquisition by Ericsson Communications for $46M two years after TouchWave was founded. Ericsson continued the TouchWave product line under the name WebCom, but its efforts have been viewed as less than successful.

Iristel is a Canadian provider of telecommunication services that is a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC). The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Markham, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AudioCodes</span> Telecommunications products manufacturer in Israel

AudioCodes Ltd. is a company that provides advanced communication software, products, and services for enterprises and service providers. Founded in 1993 by Shabtai Adlersberg and Leon Bialik, AudioCodes is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

NTT DATA Corporation is a Japanese multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a partially-owned subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phone Power</span>

Phone Power is an American privately owned commercial voice over IP (VoIP) company, based in Winnetka, California that provides telephone service over the Internet via a broadband connection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mavenir</span>

Mavenir Systems, Inc.Mavenir is an American telecommunications software company, created in 2017 as a result of a three-way merger of existing companies and technologies, that develops and supplies cloud-native software to the communications service provider (CSP) market.

BroadSoft, Inc. is a communication software and service provider that was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2018. BroadSoft was founded in 1998 and completed its initial public offering in 2010, and was headquartered in Maryland. It partners with carriers and large service providers in several countries. BroadSoft’s customers include AT&T, Verizon Communications, Sprint, Charter Communications, Comcast, and Vodafone. The company provides technology for service providers to build cloud-based communications services such as voice, video, web conferencing and team messaging and contextual services.

Ribbon Communications Inc. is a public company that makes software, IP and optical networking solutions for service providers, enterprises and critical infrastructure sectors. The company was formed in 2017, following the merger of Genband and Sonus Networks and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

References

  1. ↑ "Fact Sheet Overview". Metaswitch Networks.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "History". Metaswitch Networks.
  3. 1 2 "MetaSwitch - Engineered for Success in VoB/VoIP". Optical Keyhole. 15 March 2004. Archived from the original on 20 August 2007.
  4. ↑ "Locations". Metaswitch Networks.
  5. ↑ "Board of Directors". Metaswitch Networks.
  6. ↑ "METASWITCH NETWORKS LTD - Filing history (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  7. ↑ Karpinski, Rich (29 October 2008). "Metaswitch Touts 22% Growth". Connected Planet Online. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
  8. ↑ Mohney, Doug (8 April 2009). "MetaSwitch Forum 2009: MetaSwitch appoints Lazar CEO, adds DeNuccio to board, consolidates brand". FierceVoIP. FierceMarkets. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "Metaswitch Networks Annual Results Show Revenue Growth, Strong Profitability and Market Share Gains" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 7 October 2009. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Metaswitch Networks". Companies in the UK.
  11. ↑ "Metaswitch opens NFV code as Project Calico". The Register . Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Tozzi, Christopher (20 May 2016). "Tigera Plans to Solve the Container Networking Challenge".
  13. ↑ "Microsoft announces definitive agreement to acquire Metaswitch Network". 14 May 2020.
  14. 1 2 Khalidi, Yousef (14 May 2020). "Microsoft announces definitive agreement to acquire Metaswitch Networks, expanding approach to empower operators and partner with network equipment providers to deliver on promise of 5G" . Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "Microsoft Completes Metaswitch Networks Acquisition". 16 July 2020.
  16. ↑ "Metaswitch Enters Service Broker Market with Acquisition of AppTrigger" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 9 March 2010. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011.
  17. ↑ "Metaswitch Acquires Colibria" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 6 April 2011. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011.
  18. ↑ "Metaswitch Eyes VoLTE With OpenCloud Buy | Light Reading". Light Reading. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  19. ↑ Jander, Mary (22 September 2003). "DCL: Hiring Toward Profits". Light Reading. UBM TechWeb. Archived from the original on 3 November 2003.
  20. ↑ "Stability". Metaswitch Networks. Ownership. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. The company is privately held by top-tier investment firms Francisco Partners and Sequoia Capital, as well as the Employee Benefit Trust (EBT), which distributes a share of profit to all employees…
  21. ↑ "Francisco Partners and Sequoia Capital make significant investment in Data Connection and MetaSwitch" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 14 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012.
  22. ↑ Wilson, Carol (14 January 2008). "MetaSwitch gets cash infusion". Connected Planet Online. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.