BroadSoft

BroadSoft was an American telecommunications software and cloud voice company that developed enterprise and carrier-grade unified communications and collaboration platforms. It provided hosted private branch exchange (PBX), unified communications as a service (UCaaS), contact center, and collaboration tools for service providers and enterprises. BroadSoft's platforms were used by telecom operators, cable companies, and internet service providers to deliver voice, video, messaging, and mobile applications.

History

BroadSoft was founded in 1998 by Michael Tessler amid the late 1990s dot-com bubble and telecommunications deregulation trends, attracting early partnerships with regional carriers and incumbent operators. The company expanded through organic growth and acquisitions, including purchases of companies in the VoIP and collaboration space, aligning with the rise of VoIP adoption and the shift toward cloud services exemplified by competitors and peers such as Avaya, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, and Genesys. BroadSoft's growth trajectory reflected industry events like the global rollout of LTE networks and the increasing demand from cable operators such as Comcast and Charter Communications for hosted voice services. In 2018 BroadSoft was acquired by Cisco Systems in a high-profile transaction that followed consolidation trends seen in mergers between Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia, and between Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US.

Products and Services

BroadSoft's product portfolio included hosted and on-premises offerings for enterprise communications and service-provider-delivered services. Flagship offerings included BroadCloud-hosted solutions comparable to enterprise suites from Microsoft Teams, Zoom Video Communications, and cloud PBX offerings from RingCentral. BroadSoft provided omnichannel contact center capabilities that competed with NICE, Five9, and Verint Systems. Mobile and fixed-line operators used BroadSoft platforms to offer services to subscribers in conjunction with vendors like Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia. The company also offered collaboration clients and softphones that integrated with client devices from Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics, and business endpoints from Polycom and Yealink.

Technology and Architecture

BroadSoft developed carrier-grade, multi-tenant software built on service-oriented and cloud-native principles influenced by platforms from Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and virtualization frameworks like VMware. Its architecture supported SIP-based signaling standards such as those from the IETF and interoperability with PSTN gateways manufactured by Cisco Systems and Ribbon Communications. BroadSoft implemented APIs and integration points compatible with directory and identity systems like Active Directory and single sign-on providers used in enterprises such as Oracle Corporation and IBM. Scalability and redundancy designs drew upon high-availability patterns used in distributed systems research associated with Stanford University and MIT labs, and its security posture referenced standards from NIST and compliance regimes similar to telecom practices in the European Union and Federal Communications Commission regulation in the United States.

Corporate Affairs and Acquisition

BroadSoft operated globally with customers and partners across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, engaging with major service providers including Verizon, AT&T, and Vodafone. The company completed initial public offering preparations and engaged with investment firms and banks operating in mergers and acquisitions markets reminiscent of transactions involving Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. In 2018 BroadSoft agreed to be acquired by Cisco Systems in a deal that reflected strategic consolidation in unified communications similar to Cisco’s prior acquisitions of companies such as Tandberg and WebEx. Post-acquisition integration involved product roadmaps influenced by Cisco divisions and cross-product strategies akin to how Microsoft integrated acquisitions like Skype Technologies.

Market Position and Competition

Before its acquisition, BroadSoft held a significant share of the hosted business telephony and UCaaS market competing with vendors such as Avaya, Mitel Networks, 8x8, Inc., RingCentral, and Microsoft. Service providers and cable operators chose BroadSoft for its carrier-grade scalability in markets served by operators like Comcast and Charter Communications, and for interoperability with enterprise ecosystems dominated by Dell Technologies and HP Enterprise. Market dynamics were shaped by trends driven by cloud computing adoption, regulatory changes in telecommunications, and competitive movements by technology giants including Amazon.com and Google LLC expanding into communications services.

Category:Telecommunications companies of the United States Category:Software companies established in 1998 Category:Cisco acquisitions