Logicalis acquires UK Tandberg specialist

Consolidation of Cisco and Tandberg channels continues as Logicalis buys Direct Visual

Logicalis has become the latest of Cisco's top partners to follow the networking vendor's lead and make an acquisition in the videoconferencing space.

Logicalis' parent company, Datatec, announced this morning that the integrator has acquired UK Tandberg Platinum partner Direct Visual for an undisclosed sum.

The move comes a year after Cisco's $3.4bn acquisition of Tandberg and follows on from the acquisition of another UK Tandberg partner, Mvision, by Cisco Gold partner Dimension Data in September.

West Yorkshire-based Direct Visual specialises in video communications and boasts annual sales of about $15m. Its client list includes Nike, Nissan, AstraZeneca and the Highways Agency.

As well as Tandberg and Cisco, Direct Visual also partners with Polycom, Codian and Radvision.

Its business will be integrated into Logicalis' Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) operation to strengthen the integrator's video offering, Datatec said.

Jens Montanana, chief executive of South Africa and London-listed Datatec, said: "This acquisition is a great opportunity for Logicalis to develop its video business in line with its UCC capabilities, and further broaden the offerings within its managed services and cloud computing expertise."

Integration of the Cisco and Tandberg channels is also being played out at a distribution level, with Cisco distributors Comstor and TDAzlan recently being given the nod to sell Tandberg in the UK, as revealed by CRN.