Cisco Case Write-Up
1. Compare and contrast the use of IT in an “information Age” company versus that in an “industrial Age” company? Is Cisco an Information Age company? Why? The Industrial Age company is a traditional company, which believes in uniformity, stability, permanence, security, and competition; however, the Information Age company is totally contrasted. The Information Age company focuses on diversity, cooperation, flexibility, motivation for cooperating, and communication by using information over e-commerce. The impact of control of information and how it is creating super valuable companies like Apple, Google and Facebook can be seen during these days. Each company controls massive amounts of data on consumers, creates products that leverage that information, and delivers services that are therefore irresistible.
Cisco is clearly the one of Information Age companies. Cisco gives the priority on the Information Technology. In the case study, Cisco adopted strategy of systematic acquisitions and strategic partners, which proof that Cisco focuses on cooperated information. Cisco also concerned about standardization, flexibility, extensibility, and scalability. The decisions that Solvik and his team made during this case trends to emphasize how more Cisco becomes closer to the definition of Information Age company. They applied internet and intranet which is not so popular at that year for employee self-service, communication and distance learning, customer
1. In relation to your current business environment (or one that you are familiar with), identify at least two different types of information technology that may be used when completing work tasks.
We are at the forefront of an information revolution. Firms are increasingly relying on data to drive strategic and business decisions. Upstart companies are giving market leaders a run for their money by tapping into advanced data analytics, statistical modeling and open source software. Multi-billion dollar companies like Uber and Airbnb have shown a groundbreaking data-driven way to connect its products & services to their customers. We are living in a world where every customer touch point with a digital device is being recorded and monetized. Every business has to reinvent, transform, and adapt its products and services to meet the demand of its digital savvy customers or face the risk of becoming obsolete.
Cisco rapidly grew from a start-up to $500M global corporation by January, 1993 when the case begins with Pete Solvick, CIO of the company faced with the daunting task of upgrading its transaction systems and data warehouse. Cisco had exponential growth through the 1990s, averaging at one point an 80% compound annual growth rate while also accelerating new product development and introductions throughout its direct and indirect sales channels. Systems outages were becoming more common as were product shortcomings due to the IT systems supporting key processes becoming faulty and only partially operating the majority of the time. Clearly Cisco had outgrown its current transaction processes and data warehousing infrastructure.
In 1955, Fortune magazine identified 500 of the largest companies at that time; 60 years later only 71 of the 500 still were operating (Perry, 2015). Why did 429 companies fail to succeed after 60 years? A lack of adapting to evolving technology is a common denominator in many of their falls from the top. Blockbuster, Dell, Sun Microsystems and Sears all enjoyed enviable success which after time led to unenviable stumbles due to their lack of embracing and adapting to the evolving technology in their fields. Technology is not just a means for millennials to socialize, rather technology is setting the tone for current and future business models, urging businesses to invest more in gadgets, software etc . that will build a stronger team and provide more advanced products to the end user. Businesses have evolved since the onset of the internet expanding from the traditional storefront brick and mortar to the ability to sell to the masses by utilizing the internet to market worldwide. As technology continues to advance, communication to clients allows client relations to better track trends and be available instantly to answer client disputes through the use of SMS or provide answers to common questions allowing clients to shop at their leisure. Technology has not just become a means for providing better service and better manufactured products but allows businesses the competitive edge. Research suggests that businesses must be aware of and familiar with technological
Without the significant amount of technological advancements, it is quite difficult for the market players to sustain their market presence and profitability in the today’s competitive environment. Sears Holdings pioneers social networking platforms with mysears.com and mykmart.com. New intelligent group sites
The impact of the global financial crisis in 2008 on Cisco, compared to the one in 2001, is nothing remarkable, if we only analyse the figures. The income of 2009, 36.1 billion dollars, was 9 % less than last year’s. More important, under the global financial crisis with a lot of ongoing uncertainty, the cash flow still increased by 25%, up to $35 billion, which makes sure the continuous acquisition strategy to carry on. Under the spread of the 2008 crisis, Cisco will continue to push forward the organization strategy - acquisitions, established in 2001. According to the statistics of the research done by Venture Resource Institutions, Cisco took over 48 enterprises
As children growing up into adults, they often think back into their childhood and reminisce on the dreams they had. One dream in particular was the job that they so desperately wanted as a kid. Most kids will say they want to be a doctor, a lawyer, an astronaut or even a race car driver. These are all magnificent jobs and behind that dream is a goal to reach that dream job and do whatever it takes to get there. What about those students who dreamed outside of the box? To become the CEO of fortune 500 companies such as Google, USAA, or even Capital One. These students are the ones who opened there minds early and began to see the world through their own vision rather the vision society directed them in.
Companies, somehow and someway, will need to overcome these challenges because there is no stopping of the disruptive effects of the third industrial revolution. “The transition from industrial, to digital to social, is one of hard and persistent to soft and transient to ephemeral and real-time (Stein, 2013). The impact of digital channels and big data are having profound effects on marketing analytics. A significant portion of marketing analytics will be married to Information Technology (IT). In 2012, Gartner predicted Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) would spend more on IT than Chief Information Officers (CIO) (Arthur, 2012). With CIOs starting to report to CMOs, and vice versa, this trend is becoming
In the future, advances technology will change everyday life and businesses beyond recognition. Looking ahead to the next 5 or 10 years, there’s no question technology will continue to dramatically alter our basic understanding of how to conduct businesses, our daily life
Many businesses today are investing heavily in information technology like e-commerce and internet advertising despite the financial crisis at hand. Most companies view IT as a resource for the expansion of their business. Chief Executives look at IT as a tool to gain competitive advantage against their competitors. However, Nicholas’s argument is of a different view. He says competitive advantage can only be gained by a company if
The logical conclusion of technological innovations is the digital age we are experiencing today. The rapid developments in the field of information systems and telecommunications have led to the prevalence of the Internet. The development and upgrading of commercial activity is influenced by the internet, which is now an integral part of the communication activity of businesses and individual users.
The nature of the market structure and demand of Cisco Systems is its business market which contains fewer but larger companies. For Cisco Systems, this implies that even though they have fewer clients than other companies, they still have a good and profitable relationship with their clients. For the customers of Cisco Systems, this implies that they will receive better and faster service and products because they don’t have to compete for the attention and service of Cisco Systems.
Los altos ejecutivos tecnológicos de Cisco, concordaron que no solo iban a escuchar a los clientes, sino que además iban a cambiar su estrategia de adquisiciones. La nueva visión era comprar pequeñas e innovadores compañías de software, en lugar de grandes y establecidas. Se enfocaron mayormente en las pequeñas empresas, debido a que las grandes eran difíciles de integrar. Estas compañías no debían tener mas de 75 empleados y el 75% debía ser ingeniero.
CISCO was founded in the mid 1980’s by 2 married computer science students from Stanford by the names of Sandy Lerner and Len Bosack. By 1990, the company went public and was listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange (Duffy, 20012). Cisco’s first and most significant acquisition of Crescendo Communications launched their $15 billion Catalyst switching business (Duffy, 2012). By 1997, during its first year on the Fortune 500, Cisco ranked in the top 5 companies in Return on Revenues as well as Return on Assets (Nolan, Porter, Akers, 2005).
Cisco was founded in the mid 1980’s by 2 married computer science students from Stanford by the names of Sandy Lerner and Len Bosack. By 1990, the company decided to go public and was listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange (Duffy, 20012). Afterwards, Cisco’s first and most significant acquisition of Crescendo Communications launched their $15 billion Catalyst switching business (Duffy, 2012). By 1997, during its first year on the Fortune 500, Cisco ranked in the top 5 companies in Return on Revenues as well as Return on Assets (Nolan, Porter, Akers, 2005).