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Cisco

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Cisco Systems, Inc.
Company typePublic (Nasdaq: CSCO)
IndustryTelecommunications hardware
Founded1984
HeadquartersSan Jose, California
Key people
CEO: John Chambers
Chairman: John Morgridge
ProductsSwitches, Routers, Firewalls
Revenue$24.8 billion USD (2005)
13,969,000,000 United States dollar (2022) Edit this on Wikidata
11,812,000,000 United States dollar (2022) Edit this on Wikidata
Total assets104,900,000,000 United States dollar (2015) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
34,000
Websitewww.cisco.com

Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO, SEHK: 4333), one of the most successful companies today, originally manufactured only enterprise routing equipment. These days, Cisco sells a variety of devices for both enterprises and telecommunications carriers. These include, but are not limited to:

Cisco's tag line is "The Worldwide Leader in Networking for the Internet" [2].

Corporate history

A Cisco ASM/2-32EM router deployed at CERN in 1987.

The married couple Leonard Bosack and Sandra Lerner, who worked in computer operations staff at Stanford University, founded Cisco Systems in 1984. Bosack adapted multiple-protocol router software originally written by William Yeager, another staff employee who had begun the work years before Bosack arrived from the University of Pennsylvania, where Bosack had received his Bachelor's degree.

While Cisco was not the first company to develop and sell a router (a device that forwards computer traffic from one network to another), it did create the first commercially successful multi-protocol router to allow previously incompatible computers to communicate using different network protocols. As the Internet Protocol (IP) has become a standard, the importance of multi-protocol routing as a function has declined. Today, Cisco's largest routers are marketed to route primarily IP packets and MPLS frames.

In 1990 the company went public and was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Bosack and Lerner walked away from the company with $170 million [3], and later divorced.

Using acquisitions, internal development and partnering with other companies Cisco has made inroads into many network equipment markets outside of routing, including Ethernet switching, remote access, branch office routers, ATM networking, security, IP telephony and others. In 2003, Cisco acquired Linksys, a popular manufacturer of computer networking hardware and positioned it as a leading brand for the home and the end user networking market (SOHO).

Cisco has set up "Cisco Networking Academies" in 150 countries aimed at teaching students to design and maintain computer networks.

Cisco provides certifications to professionals in the networking field. These include:

  • CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert)
  • CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional)
  • CCDP (Cisco Certified Design Professional)
  • CCIP (Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional)
  • CCSP (Cisco Certified Security Professional)
  • CCVP (Cisco Certified Voice Professional)
  • CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate)
  • CCDA (Cisco Certified Design Associate)

The company has its corporate headquarters in San Jose, California.

Executives

John Chambers is the current President and CEO.

Other senior executives include:

Brad Boston - Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Charles H. Giancarlo - Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer

Dennis D. Powell - Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Susan Bostrom - Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer

Origin of the Cisco name

The name "Cisco" is not an acronym, but an abbreviation of San Francisco. According to John Morgridge, employee 34 and the company's first president, the founders hit on the name and logo while driving to Sacramento to register the company -- they saw the Golden Gate Bridge framed in the sunlight [4]. The name cisco Systems (with the lowercase "c") continued in use within the engineering community at the company long after the official company name was changed to Cisco Systems, Inc. Users of Cisco products can still see the name ciscoSystems occasionally in bug reports and IOS messages.

The company's logo reflects its San Francisco name heritage: it represents a stylized Golden Gate Bridge.

Corporate acquisitions

For a list and discussion of Cisco's acquisitions, see Cisco Systems acquisitions.

A partial list of products

  • Hardware
    • Wireless IP Phone 7920
    • IP Phones 7940, 7960 and 7970
    • Catalyst switch series: 500 Express, 1200, 1600, 1700, 1900, 2000, 2100, 2800, 29xx, 3000, 35xx, 37xx, 40xx, 45xx, 5xxx, 6xxx,
    • Routers: 700, 800, 100x, 1600, 1700, 1800, 2500, 2600, 2800, 3600, 3700, 3800, 4500, 4700, 7000, 7200, 7400, 7500, 7600, 10000, 12000, CRS-1 etc.
    • Wireless: Wireless Integrated Switches and Routers,Wireless IP Telephony, Wireless LAN Access, Aironet Wireless Bridges and Workgroup Bridges, Cisco Wireless LAN Client Adapters, Wireless LAN Controllers, Wireless Network Management, Wireless LAN Management, Wireless Security Servers

[5]

    • PIX Firewall (acquired from Network Translation, Inc)
    • AS5xxx Remote Access dial in servers (RAS)
    • AS5xxx series VoIP gateways
  • Cisco IP/TV
  • Cisco IP/VC
  • Cisco CallManager Express (CCME)
  • Cisco MeetingPlace
  • Cisco Unity
  • Cisco Secure Desktop

Diversity

Cisco received a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign starting in 2004, the third year of the report. In addition, the company was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 by Working Mothers magazine.

See also

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