6/10/2008 -- One of the most familiar tropes of the late 1990s dot.com boom was the news that Cisco Systems Inc. had acquired still another networking player.

Not that Cisco has put an end to its acquiring ways, of course. Just this week, for example, it disclosed its plans to purchase DiviTech A/S, a Denmark-based developer of digital-service management (DSM) technology.

The DiviTech acquisition, when it closes, will be Cisco's 128th.

DiviTech's focuses on outfitting broadcasters, cable and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) providers with intuitive interface technology that lets them build and support video networks. DiviTech's DSM technology enables service provider customers to provision and deliver localized content -- e.g., local and regional news or on-demand video -- on a region-specific basis.

Cisco plans to integrate the DiviTech technology with its brawny ROSA network and element-management platform. Cisco picked up the ROSA technology from another of its many acquisitions -- that of the former Scientific Atlanta

As an indication, perhaps, of DiviTech's relative obscurity (and of its non-Silicon Valley provenance), Cisco officials seemed even more bullish than usual about the acquisition.

"DiviTech provides Cisco with a core team of some of the most talented engineers in the DSM market," said Dean Rockwell, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Digital Media business unit, in a statement. "DiviTech's DSM platform will serve as the foundation for Cisco's continued leadership in next-generation management tools and applications for complex video networks."

Once the acquisition is completed (which should occur by Q4), Cisco will incorporate DiviTech into its Digital Media business unit. DiviTech will formally become part of Cisco's Service Provider Video Technology Group, and its employees will work out of Cisco's existing facility in Copenhagen. --Stephen Swoyer