Brian McConnell dropped me a line a couple of days ago to talk about the new WordPress Plug-in for WorldWide Lexicon, his project to translate the web using human volunteers. Toward the end of the conversation he also let me know that OCS (the company behind Radio Handi) would soon be acquired, but that he couldn't let me know who the mystery acquirer was… just yet!
The news is out this morning. Radio Handi has been bought in a cash and royalties deal by hosted PBX provider Virtual PBX. From the press release:
With this acquisition, Virtual PBX gains access to OCS' cross-platform telecommunications environment and expertise. This platform will add a wide range of VoIP, mobile, text, and mixed-media communication services to the Virtual PBX product line. By combining technologies from the two companies, Virtual PBX plans to provide a suite of virtual office telecommunications services that can be purchased separately or together, expanding existing markets for the company and enabling new market penetration. New offerings
based on this infrastructure will begin to appear by the fourth quarter of this year.
It makes sense. Much of what OCS built could be very effectively targeted into the enterprise space, even though their focus with Radio Handi was consumer.
Congratulations!
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
