Cisco Adds IoT Muscle With Jasper Acquisition

It’s a rare pundit who proclaims that the future of retail tech innovation doesn’t lie in the Internet of Things, and one of the computing industry’s largest players just threw its lot in with IoT’s future.

Cisco announced Wednesday (Feb. 3) that it had finalized a deal that would see it pay $1.4 billion in cash, equity and incentives to acquire Jasper, the Santa Clara-based cloud IoT service platform. Jasper CEO Jahangir Mohammed will join Cisco to run its new IoT Software Business Unit — a project that Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins believes is primed for success.

“I am excited about the opportunity for Cisco and Jasper to accelerate how customers recognize the value of the Internet of Things,” Robbins said in a statement. “Together, we can enable service providers, enterprises and the broader ecosystem to connect, automate, manage and analyze billions of connected things, across any network, creating new revenue streams and opportunities.”

Forbes explained that the Jasper acquisition is by no means a slight move by Cisco. In fact, Jasper is one of the largest cloud-based IoT suppliers on the market, with more than 3,500 enterprise clients and 27 service provider customers spread over 100 countries. Jasper also recently signed agreements with Ericsson and Philips, which gave Cisco an immediate and not-inconsequential boost to its credibility with IoT the moment the deal was announced — something that should come as good news to both Cisco and its prospective clients in need of better and more secure IoT practices.

“IoT has become a business imperative across the globe,” Mohammed said in a statement. “Enterprises in every industry need integrated solutions that give them complete visibility and control over their connected services, while also being simple to implement, manage and scale. By coming together, Jasper and Cisco will help mobile operators and enterprises accelerate their IoT success.”