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A firm that provides cloud communications platforms for service providers has agreed to acquire Metaswitch from Microsoft.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
A new agreement involving Microsoft would see Alianza gain a base of 1,000 new customers upon finalization.
Alianza, which provides cloud platforms for internet service providers (ISPs), is set to acquire Metaswitch in the deal, Alianza recently announced.
Metaswitch is a Microsoft-owned provider of high-performance communications software. The company was acquired by Microsoft in 2020.
This week, Alianza’s founder and CEO, Brian Beutler, spoke with BBCMag.com to discuss how the agreement is poised to transform Alianza’s operations.
Beutler said Metaswitch was one of the companies that led the industry’s transition away from copper line infrastructure towards a more digital model.
In his estimation, Beutler said Metaswitch was “the most talented” of the companies that led that industry shift. He said Metaswitch’s software was deployed by over 800 global operators, including giants like AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Comcast, and Charter Communications.
“Whether it’s voice, video conferencing, text messaging, you name it,” he said. “This software is right in the middle of that, connecting hundreds of millions of people everyday.”
The brand behind the brand you know
According to Alianza’s announcement, the acquisition would help the industry “streamline the path to a cloud-orchestrated, AI powered communications future.”
Beutler said he thinks of Metaswitch’s software much like he thinks about Alianza’s cloud platforms for ISPs, as the brands behind more known brands.
As Beutler pointed out, there’s a big distinction between what Metaswitch does and what Alianza does.
He said the next transformation in the communications space is to cloud-based platforms.
“That’s where we play,” he said.
An AI-powered future
According to Beutler, Alianza was born as a cloud-native alternative to telco infrastructure housed inside an ISP’s data center.
“Service providers for the last decade have been absolutely hyper focused on data, and expanding and modernizing their networks,” he said.
Beutler said that investment has largely fallen flat.
“Although the speeds have gone up by 10x, the revenue hasn’t moved at all,” Beutler said, adding that Alianza does the “cloud-version” of the software Metaswitch provides.
A challenge Beutler said his company has faced is a lack of a built-in customer base.
Metaswitch, however, has a strong portfolio of customers.
Beutler said Microsoft bought Metaswitch with an intent to cloudify the firm’s services, but a strategy shift in June led them to discussions with Alianza about the future of Metaswitch.
Alianza was a natural fit to acquire Metaswitch in Microsoft’s eyes, according to Beutler.
In the agreement with Microsoft, Beutler explained Alianza will work to bring Metaswitch’s operations to a could-based model. Alianza will also work to incorporate AI enabled services.
“This is the best home for this business,” he said.
According to Alianza’s announcement this week, the transaction is expected to close in Q1 of 2025.
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