Cisco is a leader in Information Technology and helps companies all over the world seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that great things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. Just like the internet, Cisco’s growth has been nothing short of phenomenal. Cisco wireless VoIP phones and other networking equipment are at top of the industry. In this article, we take a look at Cisco from the beginnings and examine how it came to become a leader in their industry.
In 1985, married couple Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner founded Cisco Systems. The name Cisco comes from a city of the same name – San Francisco. Apparently, the founders were inspired by the sighting of the Golden Gate Bridge framed in sunlight on their drive to Sacramento to register the business.
The company started with the development of a multiple protocol router – a device that was used to direct computer traffic between two or more networks. The routers were such a success that when the company went public in 1990, the founders were worth $170 million.
Throughout the 1990s, Cisco systems and products spread around the world and Cisco phones and routers became increasingly more popular. At the height of dot com boom in 2000, Cisco was known as the most valuable company in the world with a market capitalization of over $500 billion.
What’s Next for Cisco?
Less than 30 years ago, wireless was not part of our lexicon and was just an old term that people used to describe radios. No one ever heard of POPs, routers, or WANs. Today, it’s difficult to imagine a world without computers and as we become even more dependent on the internet, companies like Cisco will continue to boom and become an important part of our lives.