Tandberg buys reseller NuVision Technologies

Tandberg buys reseller NuVision Technologies

Videoconferencing manufacturer Tandberg last month scored a coup over rival PictureTel by acquiring NuVision Technologies, a Dallas-based company that had been an exclusive PictureTel reseller. Tandberg plans to sell its own videoconferencing products through NuVision, which will probably no longer sell PictureTel systems.

The acquisition most likely will not affect telemedicine users, as Tandberg tends to handle such specialized systems directly rather than through resellers. The acquisition is a sign of Tandberg's increasing penetration of the North American market, however.

Prior to the acquisition, NuVision exclusively sold PictureTel systems, and the company had revenues of about $20 million in 1997, according to Marian Levy, vice president of marketing for Tandberg in Montreal, Canada. Tandberg will use NuVision's network to sell its Vision 2000 general-purpose videoconferencing system, which is capable of speeds of up to 384 kbps. For dedicated telemedicine applications, Tandberg sells its Tandberg Healthcare System directly, although healthcare users could potentially buy a general-purpose Vision 2000 system from NuVision if they so desired, Levy said.

In conjunction with the acquisition, Tandberg announced a bundled package it is referring to as the "384 for 384" program. Under the offer, customers can receive a Vision 2000, installation, ISDN network, training, service, and discounted network usage for $384 a month over a five-year term.

Tandberg is a Norwegian company that has been active in the North American market for the past two and a half years. The vendor sharply increased its presence in the U.S. and Canada with the acquisition of CBCI last year (PNN 7/97). The NuVision acquisition is a sign that the company is serious about the North American market, Levy said, and Tandberg is also planning to announce an agreement shortly in which another PictureTel reseller has agreed to carry its systems on a nonexclusive basis.

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