|
Cisco Systems, Inc.
(408)
526-4000
170
West Tasman Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
www.cisco.com
Sales
$18.9
billion
Business Description
We
manufacture and sell networking and communications products and provide
services associated with that equipment and its use. Our products are
installed at corporations, public institutions, and telecommunication
companies, and commercial businesses, and are also found in personal
residences. We provide a broad line of products for transporting data,
voice, and video within buildings, across campuses, and around the world. We
conduct our business globally and are managed geographically in four
segments: the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); Asia
Pacific; and Japan.
Products and Services
We sell scalable, standards-based networking products that cover a wide
range of customers’ networking needs. Our products and services help
customers build their own network infrastructures while providing tools to
allow them to communicate with key stakeholders, including customers,
prospects, business partners, suppliers and employees.
Our products are used individually or in combinations to connect computing
devices to networks or computer networks with each other—whether they are
within a building, across a campus, or around the world. Our breadth of
product and service offerings enables us to offer a wide range of products
and services to meet customer requirements. We also provide products and
services that allow customers to transition their various networks to a
single multiservice data, voice and video network.
We refer to some of our products and technologies as Advanced Technologies,
and we believe some of these Advanced Technologies may grow over time to
become material contributors to our overall business. We have currently
identified six Advanced Technologies for particular focus: IP telephony,
security, optical networking, storage area networking, wireless technology,
and home networking, although over time, additional Advanced Technologies
may be identified for focus and investment. In addition, investments may be
curtailed or eliminated in some presently identified Advanced Technologies
depending on market developments and resource allocation decisions.
Over time, we believe that the Internet and the various networks associated
with it, including but not limited to corporate intranets, cable, broadband
and dialup networks, and voice and video networks, will converge into a
“network of networks.” In that environment, we believe successful vendors
will be capable of providing an end-to-end spectrum of products aimed not at
a particular technology platform but at solutions to networking problems
that span all the segments that currently define the industry. As such, many
of our strategic initiatives and investments are aimed at meeting the
requirements that such a network of networks would demand. For a discussion
of the risks associated with that strategy, please see the section of this
report entitled “Risk Factors,” including but not limited to the risk factor
entitled, “We depend upon the development of new products and enhancements
to existing products, and if we fail to predict and respond to emerging
technological trends and customers’ changing needs, our operating results
and market share may suffer.” For information regarding sales of our major
products and services, see Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements
in our 2003 Annual Report to Shareholders, which is incorporated into this
report by reference.
Our offerings fall into several categories:
Routing
Routing is a foundation technology for computer networking. Routers
interconnect computer networks and move information from one network to
another. Our routing products offer features to increase security of
transmissions and increase efficiency in use of transmission capacity. We
offer a broad range of routers, from core backbone infrastructure at large
telecommunications
companies to small and home office deployments. Our routers are also used to
interconnect storage networks that can be shared and managed globally.
Switching
Switching is another integral networking technology that is used in both
local-area networks (LANs) and wide-area networks (WANs). Our switching
products are designed to help users migrate from traditional shared LANs to
fully switched networks. Our solutions employ several widely used switching
technologies, including Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Token Ring, and
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).
Access
Our access products give remotely located groups and individuals similar
levels of connectivity and information access to achieve seamless
connections for users whether they are located at a company’s head office,
at home, or traveling. Asynchronous and integrated services digital network
(ISDN) remote-access routers, dialup access servers, wireless solutions,
digital subscriber line (DSL) technologies, and cable universal broadband
routers provide telecommuters, mobile workers, students and other users with
remote network access.
We offer a broad line of in-building wireless LAN and building-to-building
wireless bridging solutions. These solutions include access points, wireless
LAN client adapters, bridges, antennas and accessories. Our wireless
products are designed to provide high-performance, secure, manageable, and
reliable wireless LANs that enable mobility and increase productivity.
Other Products
IP Telephony
We provide IP telephony products for transmitting voice communications over
a network using an open, standards-based Internet Protocol (IP). Our IP
telephony products use a single network infrastructure for the transmission
of data, voice, and video traffic to deliver IP voice and fully integrated
communications. IP telephony products provide a seamless migration to full
IP communications by interoperating with existing systems.
Security
We provide a broad range of security products and services to protect
critical information systems from unauthorized use, defend against attack,
and minimize the effect of Internet-borne worms and viruses. As part of our
defense-in-depth strategy, we offer numerous network security technologies
within our family of routers and switches, in standalone appliances, and as
host-based software. Our network security offerings are designed to help
ensure the integrity of the information network, simplify operations and
lower total cost of ownership.
Optical Networking
We provide optical networking products for both the enterprise and service
provider markets. Our optical networking products provide a variety of
functions: service interfaces with a variety of bit rates and options;
scaling of customers’ central offices to switch higher-bandwidth services;
providing the core of the network where incremental, high-bandwidth channel
capacity is required to connect multiple metropolitan markets; and enabling
service providers to continue a rapid transition from legacy products to
next generation products. Advances in next-generation Synchronous Optical
Network/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SONET/SDH) provide an evolutionary
path for telecommunications carriers from their existing infrastructures, as
well as giving newer carriers and enterprises the capability to deploy
cost-effective, multiservice networks. We also use optical technologies such
as dense wave division multiplexing and coarse wave division multiplexing to
scale optical bandwidth as high-bandwidth applications, such as Gigabit
Ethernet and storage, become more commonplace.
Storage Area Networking
We provide storage networking products that deliver standards-based storage
connectivity with intelligent networking features such as
multi-protocol/multi-transport integration, virtual storage area networks,
advanced security, and sophisticated debug/analysis tools, as well as
intelligent storage services, such as network-based virtualization.
Home Networking
Home networking solutions and functionality attempt to replicate the
efficiency of enterprise networking in a lower-cost, easy-to-use environment
and allow users to share broadband access, music, movies and games
throughout the home and over the Internet. The products and solutions
include routers, network cards, USB adapters and other products that enable
customers to deploy networking in their home or small office environment.
Network Management Software
Our network management offerings are built around CiscoWorks software, a
family of management applications based on Internet standards. These
applications are designed to enable customers to better secure, monitor and
manage large, complex networks. For service providers, Cisco Internet OSS is
a foundation and framework designed for next-generation, IP-based services
and packet network infrastructure. Cisco Internet OSS provides management
enablement of intelligent network services.
Cisco AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) and Cisco
IOS® Software are offered in conjunction with many of our product offerings.
Cisco AVVID provides an intelligent network infrastructure for Internet
business solutions and consists of several architectural building blocks for
key Internet services. Cisco IOS Software is a common networking software
platform deployed across a broad spectrum of our products.
Service
In addition to our product offerings, we provide a broad range of service
offerings, including technical support services and advanced services.
Technical support services are designed to help ensure that our products
operate efficiently, remain highly available, and benefit from the most
up-to-date system software. These services enable customers to protect their
network investments and minimize downtime for systems running
mission-critical applications.
Advanced services is a comprehensive program that provides responsive,
preventive, and consultative support of our technologies for specific
networking needs. The advanced services program supports networking devices,
applications and complete infrastructures, allowing large organizations and
service providers to realize the potential of a multi-service network.
Customers and Markets
Our customers’ networking needs are influenced by numerous factors,
including the size of an organization, number and types of computer systems,
geographic location, and the applications requiring communications. Our
customer base is not concentrated in any particular industry. In each of the
past three fiscal years, no single customer has accounted for 10 percent or
more of our net sales. Our customers are primarily in the following markets:
Large Enterprise Businesses
Large enterprise businesses are generally defined as organizations with 500
or more employees, located in multiple locations or branch offices, with
complex networking needs within a multi-vendor environment for computer
systems and IT support infrastructure. Our large enterprise customers span
all major industries, including: government, education, retail, finance,
health care, manufacturing and transportation. We have developed
industry-focused solutions to address specific customer requirements. These
solutions include a full range of our core products and advanced technology
solutions such as: enterprise routing, switching, security, IP telephony,
mobility and storage. In addition, we offer a broad range of value-added
services including service and support packages, financing and managed
service offerings through our service provider partners.
Service Providers
Service providers offer data, voice, and/or video communication services to
businesses, governments, utilities and consumers. They include regional,
national and international telecommunications carriers, as well as Internet,
cable and wireless service providers. Many service providers resell our
products to their own residential, enterprise or commercial customers.
Additionally, service providers use a variety of our switching, routing and
network management products in their own core networks. Compared to other
end-user customers, service provider customers are more likely to require
network design services, and their business is characterized by long design
cycles.
Commercial
Commercial customers, primarily small and medium-sized businesses, have
fewer than 500 employees and a need for networks of their own, as well as
connection to the Internet and to business partners. However, these
customers generally have limited resources and expertise in networking
technology. Therefore, we attempt to provide products that are affordable
and easy to install and use. The commercial market remains an area of
potential growth for network adoption and deployment of intelligent network
solutions. The emerging technologies, which include network security,
mobility and converged voice and data solutions, are of specific interest to
small and medium-sized businesses.
Consumer
We participate in the consumer and small office/home office (SOHO) market
through our recent acquisition of the business of The Linksys Group, Inc (“Linksys”).
Linksys offers several solutions including routers, network cards, USB
adapters and other products that enable customers to deploy networking in
their homes or small office environments.
Ticker
CSCO
SIC Code
3576
- Computer Communications Equipment
Networking Equipment - Category Main Page
Networking Equipment Companies in the Directory
3Com
Cisco
Extreme Networks
Foundry Networks
Juniper Networks
|
|
