8/19/2008 -- Cisco Systems Inc. notched one of its more unusual acquisitions last year when it picked up WebEx, a provider of Web and video conferencing software.

Even Cisco's acquisition of the former Scientific Atlanta -- a prominent manufacturer of cable set-top box (STB) devices -- seemed to make more sense than that of WebEx, for which it paid nearly half ($3.2 billion) of what it had ponied up just 18 months before for Scientific Atlanta.

There's a clear sense, however, in which the WebEx technology dovetails nicely with Cisco's TelePresence and Unified Videoconferencing efforts.

There's a sense, too, in which Cisco's WebEx acquisition -- like that of Scientiifc Atlanta -- now seems prescient. Cisco, after all, picked up Scientific Atlanta just ahead of an explosion in demand for bandwidth-intensive services such as video-on-demand, a phenomenon that helped both catapult it into a prominent place -- namely, athwart the ubiquitous television set -- in the digital home and made it an instant contender in a fast-growing IPTV market segment.

Ditto for WebEx, which gives Cisco best-of-breed Web conferencing and virtual interactivity at a time when -- thanks to rising gas prices, skyrocketing air travel expenses and other budget-crunching developments -- businesses are scaling back on travel. There's anecdotal evidence that they're adopting virtual alternatives, including offerings like WebEx and TelePresence, to help make up for lost face-time. This gives Cisco a potentially strong story to tell: TelePresence is a market leader in the video conferencing segment, after all, and -- according to market-watcher IDC, among others -- WebEx remains one of the leading on-demand Web conferencing services.

Cisco has never been a company to ignore a potentially lucrative market development. Consider its newest WebEx promotional package, Meetings Plus, with which it hopes to entice travel-budget-strapped small business customers.

A limited-time offer -- it's slated to run through Oct. 25 -- Meetings Plus gives users unlimited use of WebEx Meeting Center, integrated teleconferencing and VoIP calling capabilities, and capacity for up to 25 people per meeting. It's available for $59 per month -- with an annual commitment -- and for $69 per month without any annual commitment. Cisco spins it as a great Rx for the soaring travel costs that are bedeviling SMB customers, especially.

"WebEx is a terrific way to reduce travel-and avoid paying high gas prices," said Patrick Moran, director of WebEx small business marketing for Cisco, in a statement. "It's an easy way to interact with remote customers and team members, and with the Meetings Plus promotion, it's more affordable than ever. Now small businesses can get our 'big business' service -- with the high performance, reliability and security our largest customers demand-for a very small-business friendly price." --Stephen Swoyer