Cisco's Top 5 Buys From The Last Decade

Cisco's Top 5 Buys From The Last Decade

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Cisco, the leading networking giant, has successfully used acquisitions, both large and small, to enter new markets and amplify its product portfolios.

Tracking the last 20 years of Ciscos journey, it has acquired over 140 companies. In the 1990s, most of these acquisitions were in Cisco's traditional business: routing, networking and switching.

But in the past decade, the company has expanded its footprints into areas like consumer video, business collaboration and cable TV set top boxes.

Lets check out Cisco's five biggest acquisitions of the last decade.

Linksys, Home Networking

Cisco forayed into the consumer market by acquiring Linksys in 2003. To tap the burgeoning home networking market Cisco purchased Linksys for $500 million. Linksys is still the leading manufacturer of home networking gear.

Airespace, Wireless Network Switching

In January 2005, Cisco purchased Airespace for $450 million. The acquisition added WLAN switching to Ciscos portfolio. The move was a big disappointment for the competitors who previously had deals with the company and therefore were forced to seek alternative OEM partners. Airespace manufactured products that facilitated businesses establish secure wireless networks, and fit into Cisco's core networking and switching business.

Nuova Systems, Data Center Networking

To boost its datacenter products, Cisco completed acquisition of Nuova in 2008. Cisco initially invested $50m in this company to get hold of 80 per cent stake in 2006 then bought the remaining stake in 2008. With this buyout, Cisco now offers high-end networking gear for corporate data centers. Cisco sealed the deal with $678 million.

IronPort, e-mail Security

Cisco purchased this company in 2007 and incorporated the technology into a set of appliances for small businesses, who put them at the edge of their networks to locate spam and malware before it gets to users' computers. The deal was sealed with $830 million.

Pure Digital, Consumer Video Cameras (Flip)

Cisco has recently shut down the Flip product line. Cisco Systems acquired Pure Digital Technologies, the makers of the popular Flip Video cameras for $590 million. This acquisition was different from Cisco's traditional core business. The idea was to support consumers to upload lots of video to the Internet, which would ultimately require service providers and Web companies to upgrade their infrastructure.

With its aggressive acquisition strategy, Cisco has made its mark in nearly all fields. No matter what the quarterly results say Cisco is all set to rule the tech industry.

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