Cisco 's An Information Age Company

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.

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

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.

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.

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

We define information technology (IT) to include not only computer technology (hardware and software) for processing and storing information, but also communications technology for transmitting information. Advances in computer and communications technologies have enabled firms to pursue IT investments. This will help them to gain maximum advantage from their knowledge assets-to leverage the knowledge of individual employees to the benefit of other employees and the organization as a whole.

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

As it has been evident in the 21st century, almost all companies at the global level are utilizing Information technology in their attempt to achieve the desired productivity. It is however worth noting that manufacturing, processing, assembly as well as service industries and companies have sought to utilize IT without emphasis on the specific achievements. In this context, it has come to the notice of many critics that entrepreneurs are utilizing IT just for purpose of achieving high profits and without paying key attention to the strategic importance of the same. As Carr argues, the power and the ubiquity of IT has increased prominently but this system is no longer offering the desired strategic advantage.

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

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).

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

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.