Benzinga | May 12, 2021 08:01AM EDT

Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire Socio Labs to Power the Future of Hybrid Events

Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) today announced the intent to acquire privately-held, U.S.-based Socio Labs, a modern event technology platform that provides event organizers with everything they need to successfully host in-person, virtual or hybrid events of any size and format. Together with Socio Labs, Cisco will enrich Webex Events beyond meetings, webinars and webcasts to also include large-scale, multi-session hybrid events and conferences. The solution will enable live streaming, sponsorship, networking and advanced analytics, along with continuous engagement before, during and after events -- as well as Webex features like polling, Q&A, chat and real-time translation.

The pandemic has permanently changed events. Almost overnight, event planners adopted a virtual-only format. As recovery continues and in-person events gradually resume, the hybrid event model--a combination of in-person and virtual -- is emerging as the new norm.