Cisco enables people to make powerful connections-whether in business, education, philanthropy, or creativity. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible, providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time.

Cisco was founded in 1984 by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since the company's inception, Cisco engineers have been leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. Today, with more than 67,647 employees worldwide, this tradition of innovation continues with industry-leading products and solutions in the company's core development areas of routing and switching, as well as in advanced technologies such as: Application Networking, Data Centre, Digital Media, IPICS, Mobility, Security, Storage Networking, TelePresence, Unified Communications, Video, Virtualisation.

The emergence of the network as a platform is changing the entire value chain of technology and placing the network squarely at the centre of innovation: as many as 14 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2010. The explosion of devices will be fuelled by more and more services and tasks being handled online, from phone calls to personalized searches to downloading videos, games and other forms of entertainment.

The role of the network is evolving beyond that of infrastructure. It is emerging as a secure platform for delivering the customized and personalized experience that 21st century users expect - whether that means delivering new services as a carrier, boosting productivity for businesses of any size or consumers looking for real-time, personalized entertainment and services.

As an increasingly intelligent network evolves into a platform, users will be able to communicate from any device and in whatever mode they choose.

Cisco is leading the transition to a network-centric technology environment. By combining its core strength (IP) with intelligence, the company is creating a powerful communications platform that will serve as the basis for the convergence of data, voice, video and mobile communications in a secure, integrated architecture.