Cisco to acquire video delivery startup BNI

BNI's employees will be integrated into Cisco's Service Provider Video Research Group. It isn't the first acquisition Cisco has made in pursuit of its carrier video vision. The company has as well bought content-management-system vendor ExtendMedia and digital media processing company Inlet Technologies.

Cisco was already an investor in BNI, along in time Warner Cable and Comcast Ventures. The company was founded in 2009. BNI is based in Boxborough, Massachusetts, and Cisco said it will strengthen the company's presence in the greater Boston area, where in recent years it has acquired network management vendor LineSider Technologies and mobile back-end system provider Starent Networks.

Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com