Enghouse has confirmed the acquisition of Aculab PLC.
As a provider of on-premise and cloud-based communications and AI software solutions, Aculab’s tech will augment Enghouse’s broad portfolio of communications and security offerings.
Among the tools that Enghouse will inherit is Aculab’s communications platform as a service (CPaaS) solution.
Dubbed Aculab Cloud, the vendor’s CPaaS offers versatile, programmable APIs for the integration of voice and video calls, messaging, and fax management, with pay-as-you-go pricing.
Away from the CPaaS, Aculab’s tech stack includes AI-powered answering machine detection, advanced voice and facial biometrics, and high-performance gateways for media processing and signaling.
In announcing the deal, Steve Sadler, Chairman and CEO of Enghouse, was enthusiastic about the potential of Aculab’s solutions:
Aculab’s team and products expand our existing gateway business, adds a CPaaS solution, and several AI enabled products to the Enghouse Interactive’s product portfolio.
“We are very pleased to welcome Aculab’s customers, partners, and employees to Enghouse.”
Why CPaaS?
While CPaaS may not be the main weapon in Enghouse’s arsenal, it offers an effective jumping-off point for Enghouse’s on-premise contact center base to layer over cloud-based innovation.
After all, CPaaS presents companies with more low-hanging fruit opportunities that allow them to steadily build confidence in a cloud transformation.
Many businesses may consider this preferable to large-scale cloud projects that risk failing to deliver on their vision and are often hamstrung by rising costs and delays.
Indeed, by enhancing its existing Vidyo.io CPaaS platform with Aculab’s tech, Enghouse meets customers where they are and innovates with them.
Another point to consider when appraising the deal is the fact that Enghouse also has a telco business.
Interestingly, in the last few years, there has been a growing trend of telcos buying up CPaaS platform providers.
But why? Because CPaaS platforms integrate programmable voice, video, and SMS into enterprise applications by utilizing telco operator networks, which have seen significant investment.
This market is growing rapidly, with Gartner predicting that 90 percent of businesses will adopt CPaaS by 2026, up from 30 percent in 2022.
More News from Enghouse
In more acquisitions news, at the beginning of the year, Enghouse agreed to acquire Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite business, including its Japanese and Dutch subsidiaries, for $15.5 million.
Mediasite specializes in web conferencing, video management, LMS integrations, and virtual event solutions.
The sale has been approved by key stakeholders representing 48 percent of Sonic Foundry’s ownership.
Elsewhere, Enghouse Interactive has introduced the EnghouseAI suite, a next-generation AI solution designed to boost contact center efficiency, agent productivity, and customer insights.
By leveraging open standards and diverse telephony technologies, the company aims to transform contact centers into growth drivers.
