M6 powered Geckotech out of Chicago was acquired by VoIP pioneer M5 Networks. M5 is based in New York City with offices in Chicago (at least in 2008 when I was working their).
Geckotech made the 2009 and 2010 INC 5000 lists with 2009 revenue of $4.7M, up from $1.9M in 2006. Geckotech was founded in 2003 and has 14 employees.
M5 Networks was founded in 2000 by CEO Dan Hoffman, a frequent attendee at ISPCON back in the day. M5 has revenue of $32M, according to an INC magazine article about the firm, and 110 employees. In June, M5 expanded to the competitive Atlanta market (home of rival Cbeyond) with "a partnership with CorData to market voice systems and IT infrastructure management", per the press release.
According to the press release, Geckotech wanted to find a solution that was license free. M5 Networks formerly used a Broadsoft platform to deliver its hosted voice service, but unveiled a proprietary platform in May 2010. M5 launched a click-to-call from a web page via its Call Conductor platform, so M5 is actively working on hooks and features for its own software.
This signals a coouple of things:
One, consolidation in this space is needed and will happen. I know of a couple of other deals in the works.
Two, licensing is one of the biggest issues facing Broadsoft. To have one of its most successful pioneers leave the platform and then take another one off the table will be a blow. (Let's not forget that CommPartners was a Broadsoft client before bankruptcy and liquidation. Those licenses were scooped up by Keyon Comm. Holdings.)
