Why we bought Camiant and BlueSlice – Tekelec

Tekelec’s acquisition of Camiant Networks and BlueSlice Networks will give it a centralised network intelligence layer covering session control, policy management, subscriber data management and performance management, according to CTO Vince Lesch.

Lesch said this would open new opportunities for Tekelec as operators continue to grapple with the pressures placed on the network by the data boom, and the move to next generation technologies. He said the acquisitions were not in response to any perceived gap in Tekelec’s portfolio, and should be seen as adding opportunities rather than plugging lost opportunities.

Tekelec has spent $135 million on Camiant, and $35 million on BlueSlice, bringing it Camiant’s operator data base and PCRF presence, as well as BlueSlice’s HSS solution and subscriber data management capabilitites.

“We see both areas as forming a nice natural extension to our core strength,” Lesch said. “For example, as operators move into the SIP world there will be more and more SIP-based devices querying policy – so it’s a nice fit in the intelligence layer.”

Lesch said that having capabilities across those areas would give the company the ability to combine elements to create new tools for operators – for example using the performance management function to feed information to policy management, allowing it to act on network information.