Cisco Systems said its acquisition of a video-surveillance company Tuesday means that physical security is now a market of the future for Cisco.
Cisco will pay about $51 million in cash and options for SyPixx Networks, a small Connecticut company that produces hardware and software for Internet Protocol video-surveillance systems.
"As a result of this acquisition, Physical Security will become a new Emerging Technology area for Cisco," the company said in a statement.
Cisco Vice President Marthin DeBeer said the deal was a good fit because Cisco had already become a player in the security of commercial networks.
"Through the acquisition of SyPixx, Cisco will begin to show how the network can also be a platform for enhancing the safety of people and the protection of physical assets," DeBeer said.
SyPixx technology is seen as being integrated into an "intelligent converged environment" in which real-time video surveillance accessible from virtually anywhere is integrated into a customer's overall security plan.