Today, I am pleased to announce Cisco's intent to acquire Intucell, a privately held company headquartered in Ra'anana, Israel for$475 million in cash and employee retention incentives. Intucell provides software platforms for Self-Optimized Network (SON) that support mobile carrier networks worldwide.

This acquisition will allow Cisco to extend network intelligence and tightly align different software elements across our product portfolio. It also reinforces our commitment to service provider customers and strengthens our expertise in mobility.  In addition, the acquisition of Intucell furthers our long-standing commitment to cutting-edge innovation based in Israel.

The proliferation of connected mobile devices, faster network speeds, and growing demand for high-bandwidth applications and services are driving greater network traffic and complexity.  As mobile service providers continue to face increased end-user demand, the need to dynamically manage network bandwidth, usage and services is increasing. Intucell's SON software platform addresses these challenges by examining the network, identifying issues, and intelligently managing network traffic in real time.  This capability brings enormous value to service providers and their customers.

The Intucell team's deep expertise in software, radio management and optimization technologies have made it a global leader in solving some of the most complex challenges faced by mobile service providers.

Intucell's product portfolio will be integrated into our Service Provider Mobility Group. The team will report into the Software and Applications Group led by Shailesh Shukla.