NEW YORK/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Cisco Systems Inc claimed two major victories on Monday to secure its position as the world’s top videoconferencing provider: a big sales contract for its high-end video system and regulatory approvals for its acquisition of Norway’s Tandberg.

Cisco <CSCO.O> said it won a multi-year deal to supply TelePresence systems to Bank of America <BAC.N>, reflecting the growing popularity of advanced, video communications systems.

TelePresence aims to create the experience of face-to-face meetings through high-definition video technology.

While San Jose, California-based Cisco is best known for its routers and switches that manage Internet traffic, the company has been expanding into new areas like video technology to fuel long-term growth.

The company said 200 units of TelePresence will be deployed across Bank of America’s global operations by the end of the year, with more expected in the following years.

It did not reveal how much the deal was worth, but analysts said it was likely well over $40 million. Cisco’s high-end videoconferencing systems cost around $250,000 per unit.

“We speculate this deal to be in the range of $50 million, including services, which would be the largest TelePresence deal by far,” said Jason Ader, an analyst at William Blair & Co.

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) – Technology outsourcing and consulting company Accenture Plc <ACN.N> reported a fall in quarterly earnings on Thursday and lowered its outlook for the year, citing a stronger dollar.

Accenture, which has been struggling over the past year to recapture corporate spending, said it now expects full-year earnings of $2.61 to $2.69 per share, down 6 cents from its December outlook of $2.67 to $2.75 a share, due to exchange rates.

Analysts on average had expected full-year earnings of $2.70, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company’s shares fell around 1.5 percent after-hours to $40.90, but analysts said the market’s disappointment was balanced by stronger-than-expected new bookings of $6.52 billion.

“We’re impressed by the strong bookings,” said Andy Miedler at Edward Jones.

New bookings are a gauge of the strength of new business.

“The strength of the U.S. dollar has certainly had an impact on Accenture’s results,” he added. “But overall, I think Accenture is managing the business quite well.”

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Private equity firm Apax Partners <APAX.UL> is no longer in talks to buy U.S. videoconferencing company Polycom Inc <PLCM.O>, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Shares of Polycom fell nearly 7 percent on the news, erasing gains made last week, when the Financial Times reported that Apax had been in talks since November to take Polycom private for more than $3 billion.

The two companies held discussions, but Apax did not make an offer, said the source, who declined to be identified because the talks were confidential.

Spokesmen from Apax and Polycom declined to comment.

While it was not clear why the talks had broken off, the recent rise in Polycom shares would have made it a much more expensive company for Apax to buy outright. Last week, the stock briefly rose to a high of $34.14 — up around 60 percent from its low point in November 2009.

The videoconferencing sector has experienced a flurry of acquisitions and is seen as a key growth area as companies seek to cut travel costs and innovate by installing, for example, remote customer service stations.

Giant networking company Cisco Systems Inc <CSCO.O> is set to acquire Polycom’s Norwegian rival, Tandberg ASA <TAA.OL> and become the world’s largest videoconferencing company.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Super-fast Internet for every American may sound like a pipe dream, but if the U.S. National Broadband Plan is even partially successful, it will mean billions of dollars of new sales for network equipment makers such as Cisco and Motorola.

The Federal Communications Commission wants to speed up Internet connections by about 25 times for 100 million homes by 2020, which would require service providers from AT&T Inc <T.N> to Qwest Communications International Inc <Q.N> to make huge investments, such as on building fiber lines directly to homes.

It will cost operators $60 billion just to extend fiber to 50 million homes from shared neighborhood nodes, according to IDC analyst Matt Davis, and carriers have no assurance they can recoup heavy capital expenditures by charging consumers higher fees.

Nevertheless, if carriers go even part of the way toward the FCC goal, that would boost demand for advanced network equipment, as well as a wider range of products and services that benefit from greater Web use.

Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White said Cisco Systems Inc <CSCO.O> and Juniper Networks Inc <JNPR.N> would be among the top beneficiaries. Their routers, switches and other equipment help manage Internet protocol (IP) traffic.

“At the end of the day, we expect this plan to drive significant increases in data traffic and a continued transition to IP-based networks, accelerating demand for next-generation IP networking gear, a positive for both Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks,” he said.

White raised his price target on Juniper’s shares to $38 from $34 on Thursday. The stock was at $30.31 in early afternoon trading.

NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Juniper Networks Inc’s <JNPR.N> CEO expects telecommunications carriers to step up capital spending in 2010 as new Web-surfing wireless devices force them to upgrade networks neglected during the downturn.

Kevin Johnson said an analyst’s forecast of 12 percent to 15 percent growth in global spending by telecoms service providers was consistent with what the company has heard from customers.

“That’s reflective of the view that traffic is continuing to grow. Service providers took a bit of a pause in spending in 2009 and now you’re seeing the resumption of the investment in capital to help carry that traffic, and certainly a big part of that is the mobile Internet,” Johnson said in a phone interview on Tuesday ahead of the company’s financial analyst meeting.

Juniper shares have gained little in recent months, despite stronger-than-expected results and outlook for two quarters, due to worries about slow spending by carriers and competition with larger rival Cisco Systems Inc <CSCO.O>. [nN16246458]

But analysts expect a recovery this year as smartphones and netbook computers proliferate. They have led to exponential growth in mobile Internet traffic, putting pressure on carriers

– Juniper’s main customer base — to buy more advanced — Juniper’s main customer base — to buy more advanced telecoms equipment.

While many have said Juniper faces a major challenge from Cisco’s acquisition of wireless technology firm Starent, Johnson said the company’s products were competitive.

NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Motorola Inc <MOT.N> said it aims to split into two companies in the first quarter of 2011, one to focus on cellphones and television set-top boxes, and the other on enterprise networking.

Motorola said on Thursday that splitting into two independent and publicly traded companies would help improve its position in the different markets.

Motorola shares rose 2.3 percent to $6.80 in extended trade after the news, which followed months of speculation over what steps management would take to revive its business.

The company’s money-losing mobile devices unit has been struggling to compete with new smartphones, and has not had a blockbuster since the Razr, although its Droid phone generated some buzz since launching late last year.

Its set-top box business had also suffered due to a weak economy, while its wireless network equipment business had been hit by a consolidation among telecom operators.

“It’s hard to work with a company when you don’t know where they’ll be a year from now. So this removes uncertainty,” Broadpoint Gleacher analyst Mark McKechnie said of Thursday’s announcement. “I do think the smaller divisions can offer some operational efficiency and focus.”

Motorola’s latest financial results show its mobile phone business had revenue of $7 billion for 2009. The enterprise wireless business had revenue of $2 billion while home and network sales brought in another $2 billion.

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Juniper Networks Inc <JNPR.N> will begin selling new wireless products for mobile carriers, responding to bigger rival Cisco Systems Inc’s <CSCO.O> recent acquisition of a wireless technology firm.

Juniper said on Monday its new software includes Juniper Traffic Direct which, used together with its MX 3D routers, can help mobile carriers reduce network congestion and infrastructure costs.

Another software product, Juniper Media Flow, will be targeted specifically at helping wireless carriers deliver applications like video and music, the company said, adding that they will be available from the second quarter.

Kim Perdikou, executive vice president and general manager of Juniper’s infrastructure products group, said many of the company’s mobile carrier customers were struggling with the costs of managing wireless Internet traffic.

“As smartphones started to be implemented over the past two years…, the actual economics of how much traffic is delivered to the smartphone is beginning to break,” she said. “It’s not as though revenue is rising with the cost.”

The move comes after Cisco in December completed its $2.9 billion acquisition of wireless equipment maker Starent — a deal that some analysts said could hurt Juniper’s position among wireless carriers.

The new products will also compete with Alcatel-Lucent <ALUA.PA>. Juniper shares rose 0.9 percent to $25.23 in the early afternoon.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cisco Systems Inc’s quarterly results and outlook exceeded Wall Street expectations as more customers upgraded their networks to handle growing Internet traffic, leading CEO John Chambers to declare a very strong recovery.

Shares in the leading network equipment maker rose 4 percent as the company forecast revenue growth of 23 percent to 26 percent in the current quarter, far exceeding the average analyst forecast for a rise of 16.5 percent.

“We’re hitting on all cylinders,” Chambers told analysts on a conference call, citing a “dramatic across-the-board acceleration” in the business.

“We saw very strong, balanced growth from a year-over-year perspective in almost all of the major geographies and market segment categories,” he said.

He sounded a bullish note for the rest of the technology industry, predicting a good chance of “solid, sustainable economic growth.”

Cisco is one of the first major technology companies to report results that include much of January 2010. Its performance and outlook are an indicator for the rest of the technology sector, especially in business spending.

“Their guidance suggests they are feeling very good,” said Erik Suppiger, an analyst at Signal Hill Group. “It was very encouraging.”

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cisco Systems Inc’s results and outlook soared past expectations and Chief Executive John Chambers said business has improved dramatically in nearly all areas.

The leading maker of network equipment, whose shares rose 4 percent, expects to hire 2,000 to 3,000 people in the next several quarters, Chambers said in another sign of his confidence in the economic recovery.

Cisco forecast revenue growth accelerating to a range of 23 percent to 26 percent in the current quarter, against the average Wall Street forecast for an increase of 16.5 percent year on year.

“During the quarter we saw dramatic across-the-board acceleration and sequential improvement in our business in almost all areas,” Chambers said in a statement.

As the economy improved, Cisco’s customers have resumed upgrading their networks to handle growing Web traffic, boosting sales of the company’s routers, switches and other equipment that support wireless and Internet use.

Chambers said results for the fiscal second quarter ended January 23 were “remarkably well-balanced” between products and geographies, indicating a solid recovery was underway.

Cisco is one of the first major technology companies to report results that include much of January 2010. Its performance and outlook are an indicator for the rest of the technology sector, especially in enterprise spending.