Cisco was very clear about the primary reasons it decided to acquire WebEx this week,

1. Add a new layer of web-based applications to its infrastructure-oriented product portfolio
2. Add a new subscription service business to its product-dependent revenue model
3. Gain access to 2.2 million registered end-users as well as additional corporate customers

The announcement immediately placed Cisco in the middle of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) movement, expanded the scope of the SaaS movement into the communications and messaging sector, and created an intriguing new area of competition between Cisco and Microsoft.

The announcement also gave SaaS greater credibility as a viable alternative to traditional shrink-wrapped products and an increasingly attractive business model for future success.

However, there is another dimension of the acquisition which hasn’t been mentioned in the many trade publication and industry analyst commentaries.

One of WebEx’s strongest solution areas is remote support services. Its ability to remotely access, diagnose, resolve and manage devices via the web represents a powerful new weapon in Cisco’s growing arsenal.

While the company was hesitant to acknowledge my suggestion that its IronPort acquisition would move it toward a services model, it is now very clear about its desire to gain entry into the subscription services business via the WebEx purchase.

Putting the two transactions together, along with its earlier acquisition of managed service provider (MSP) NetSolve, gives Cisco an impressive portfolio of managed service capabilities which it could deliver via its vast channel network of resellers and service providers.