Cirpack, a French company formed in 1998 and funded by Iris Capital by the end of 2002 was the European leader in softswitch platforms. A softswitch is the software platform responsible for controlling call processes in the network. In 2002, this investment was a bold move as the telecom environment was totally distressed, but Iris was convinced by the quality of the management team and strong potential of the market and company. The company executed perfectly its development and became few years later the European leader in its market. Having been acquired by a major European technology group. Cirpack is also an example that a European technology success story does not necessarily end up in a sale to a North American buyer.
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