Comcast has acquired again – this time a small Irish UC firm Blueface (terms were not disclosed), with the company joining the Comcast Business division.
The deal is somewhat complicated in that two years ago, Blueface merged with US cloud telecoms company Star2Star creating StarBlue. The two companies continued operating independently under the StarBlue holding company. At the time of the merger with Star2Star, Blueface was valued at EUR8.2 million, which gives some indication of the likely deal value of the Comcast acquisition.
Going forward, the company will operate under the Blueface brand (Blueface for Comcast), with CEO Alan Foy continuing as CEO of this entity. Foy will step down as chief executive of StarBlue, but will remain on its board as a non-executive director.
Founded in 2004, Blueface provides cloud-based unified comms to businesses of all sizes, including multinationals, large enterprises and SMEs. Its highly scalable solution, which incorporates cloud voice, messaging, conferencing, contact centre, global services, workforce mobility and cloud-based business apps, enables its business customers to communicate and collaborate globally.
Foy commented: “Blueface is the only truly global Unified Communications-as-a-Service platform that can equip service providers with a customised unified communications solution for businesses large and small.”
The company’s offering will now be available to the wider Comcast Business customer base, with Comcast saying it is fully committed to Blueface’s Irish base and will be hiring across software development, engineering, program management and sales.
Comcast Business itself provides Ethernet, Internet, WiFi, Voice, TV and Managed Enterprise Solutions, and is the largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses in the US market.
“The addition of Blueface’s Unified Communications (UC) solution to the Comcast Business portfolio will provide customers access to industry-leading audio and video tools to connect employees across devices and locations,” commented Bill Stemper, President, Comcast Business.