Google Buys Web Video Conferencing Technology

By Ryan Blitstein, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Apr. 20–Google has acquired Web video conferencing technology and the engineering team of a Swedish company for an undisclosed amount, according to a post Thursday night on the company’s official blog.

The move pits the Mountain View search and advertising giant Google in another battle with Microsoft, which revamped its collaboration and conference software for its Vista computer operating system, as well as networking company Cisco, which announced plans last month to buy online conferencing company WebEx for $3.2 billion.

“As a company, we thrive on casual interactions and spontaneous collaboration,” Douglas Merrill, Google’s vice president of engineering, wrote in the blog post. “So we’re excited about acquiring Marratech’s video conferencing software, which will enable from-the-desktop participation for Googlers in videoconference meetings wherever there’s an Internet connection.”

Marratech is owned by Swedish mutual funds, employees, and founders. Google said Marratech’s research and development team will remain in Sweden.

Contact Ryan Blitstein at rblitstein@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5715.

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Copyright (c) 2007, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

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