Cisco buys London firm IMImobile for £550m

Cisco has acquired London-based cloud communications provider IMImobile for approximately $730 million (£550m).

The acquisition, which is the largest Cisco deal in the UK for almost three years, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.

The tech giant is looking to push further into automation to reach out to its customers with IMImobile software being brought in to boost its existing customer relationship management (CRM) offerings.

IMImobile sells 'customer interactions management' software that automates a constant connection between businesses and clients through enhanced social media, messaging and audio channels. The firm is based in London, with offices in the US, Canada, India, South Africa and the UAE.

With IMImobile onboard, Cisco aims to expand its customer services with an end-to-end interaction system that drives faster and smarter interactions in order to orchestrate the lifecycle journey of its customers.

Cisco's Webex Contact Center will also be able to make use of IMImobile's artificial intelligence technology for customer journeys.

"We are excited to join Cisco and become part of one of the world's leading technology companies as they seek to enable great customer experiences," said Jay Patel, IMImobile CEO.

"We believe there will be a world of dynamic, always-on connections between global businesses and their customers and the combination of our respective technologies will enable to us make every interaction matter more for our clients."

When the deal completes in the new year, the IMImobile team will join Cisco's contact centre business unit, led by Cisco VP and GM Omar Tawakol.

"We look forward to working with IMImobile to help create a comprehensive CXaaS solution for the market - one that gives businesses a platform to provide delightful experiences across the entire customer lifecycle journey," said Jeetu Patel, senior vice president and GM of Cisco's security and applications business.