What Video Surveillance Company Should Cisco Buy?

Buying companies is at the core of Cisco's growth strategy. While Cisco has made two video surveillance purchases a few years ago, both were small by Cisco's scale and left Cisco as a smaller player in this market. Cisco's recent OEM deal with Pelco for network cameras is likely a temporary action.

As demonstrated by Cisco's dual $3 Billion USD acquisitions in the last month (including their IP videoconferencing company purchase), Cisco is certainly willing to spend substantial amounts to expand into new markets.

Cisco can easily turn around their fortunes in the video surveillance market with a single acquisition. The question, though, is what company should they buy?

Below is a survey including 4 companies I think would make the most sense for Cisco to acquire (camera companies with large market share and/or focused on megapixel -- Arecont Vision, Axis, IQinVision and Pelco).