Cisco Systems, Inc. (original) (raw)

Cisco is one of the most successful companies of the Internet era. It is a leading manufacturer of routing equipment. Cisco calls itself "The Worldwide Leader in Networking for the Internet" [1].

Cisco Systems was founded in 1984 by married couple Leonard Bosack and Sandra Lerner, computer scientists at Stanford University. Cisco created the first commercially successful router, a device that enables once-incompatible computers in far-off computer networks to communicate. In 1990 they walked away with $170 million after being booted by the professional managers the firm's venture capitalists brought in.[1]. Bosack and Lerner later divorced.

Cisco has set up Cisco Networking Academies in 128 countries aimed at teaching students to design and maintain computer networks. Cisco provides certifications to professionals in the networking field. These include CCIE, CCNA, CCDA, CCNP, CCDP, CCIP and CCSP.

The company is headquartered in San Jose, California.

History of the Cisco name

Cisco is not C.I.S.C.O but is short for San Francisco. In the early days, when the founders were looking for names, they always came up with a name that was denied. Eventually someone suggested 'cisco' with a lowercase 'c'. (Another company named CISCO already existed at that time.) The name with the lowercase 'c' continued to be used for a long time, until it was capitalized citing problems in getting the lowercase 'c' right in publications.

See also: IOS - Internetwork Operating System