Watch out, Skype and other video conferencing vendors, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG)
is at it again. On the heels of three other VOIP- and video-related
acquisitions, the search giant laid its intentions to rule the VOIP and video
market on the table with its bid to pay $68.2 million
for VOIP technology provider Global IP
Solutions (GIPS).
GIPS is a VOIP and video conferencing technology company with meager
revenue (2009 revenue was $12.06 million with a full-year net loss of $6.95
million), but a big focus on Google’s Android operating system. GIPS made some
significant Google-related moves this year, including one last week that had
its technology set to be embedded on Motorola’s Android phone. Also, in April,
GIPS became the first to offer voice chat on Android.
In non-Google related deals, the company struck an agreement with LG wherein
its technology is to be used in LG’s Fixed Mobile Convergence bundle to improve
the quality of voice calls. The company also inked a deal with Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO)
and its WebEx division for video conferencing.
GIPS technology is also used as the backbone in a variety of voice messaging
platforms that compete directly with Google, including Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO)
and AOL (NYSE: AOL).
So why is this acquisition important? First, it means that Google will own the
technology behind its competitors’ chat applications, and that’s good news for
Google that speaks for itself. Also, last month, Global IP Solutions announced
that it was going to be introducing
some new features targeted at Android developers to easily integrate video
conferencing into their Android applications.
The acquisition will also give Google the ability to offer video chat through
Android phones, boost call and video quality on services like Google Chat and
Google Voice, and possibly expand those capabilities beyond just Android.
This is the fourth video and VOIP acquisition by Google in two years. At the
end of last year, Google bought VOIP provider Gizmo5 for $30 million aiming to
improve its native Google Voice application. Prior to that, the company added
On2 for open-source video code called VP8, and also a company called Grand
Central for its Google Voice routing service.
“The Web is evolving quickly as a development platform, and real-time video and
audio communication over the Internet are becoming important new tools for
users,” said Rian Liebenberg, engineering director at Google, in the press
release.
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Messaging and Collaboration 
