Cisco 2003 Annual Report Download - page 6

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 6 of the 2003 Cisco annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 68

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68

4CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.
FOR FISCAL 2002 WE SHOWED CONSISTENT QUARTERLY IMPROVEMENT IN
ALMOST ALL CATEGORIES OF OUR OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS.
JOHN P. MORGRIDGE
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
And third, in terms of our Advanced Technology markets,
we have identified six areas that we believe each have the
potential to eventually create a $1 billion revenue oppor-
tunity for Cisco, if we execute well and the market develops
as we expect. The six Advanced Technologies we have
identified are: optical, network security, IP telephony,
wireless LAN, storage networking, and home networking.
We increasingly see customer adoption of these technolo-
gies, and we are very comfortable with our leadership
role in all six of the Advanced Technologies.
The business results we reported in fiscal 2003, including
increases in profitability, market share position, and tech-
nology innovation, were the direct result of the decisions
and investments we made 12 to 36 months ago. Similarly,
the decisions and investments we are making today will
position us for the next several years.
The bottom line on this is that you don’t achieve the type
of growth that Cisco has achieved in the past—and hopefully
will in the future—without taking good business risks. We
believe that the benefit of this strategy to our customers,
shareholders, partners, and employees outweighs the risks.
Our customers recognize the power of the network, and as
their businesses become healthier and their investments in
networking increase, we believe that Cisco has never been
better positioned to become the network evolution leader.
PARTNERSHIPS
Successful partnerships are one of several key components
of Cisco’s overall growth strategy, in conjunction with
internal development and acquisitions. By forming partner-
ships with best-in-class companies, Cisco is able to focus on
what we do best—world-class networking solutions—while
at the same time offering customers the end-to-end solutions
they need. With the help of our partners, we can enter
into new markets more quickly and efficiently, develop
new solutions for our traditional markets, and deliver the
highest-quality Cisco products and services to our customers.
Over the last year, we strengthened our alliances and
entered into new key relationships that will help both Cisco
and these companies succeed in the marketplace, including
relationships with AT&T, Bell South, EDS, EMC, HP, Hitachi,
IBM, and SBC, among others. We have entered into agree-
ments to acquire six companies, Andiamo, AYR Networks,
the business of Linksys, Okena, Psionic, and SignalWorks.
These companies bring to Cisco both the technology and
talent necessary to help us be successful in our core and
Advanced Technology markets such as storage networking,
home networking, security, and IP telephony.
CISCO COMMUNITY
Cisco was founded on, and still thrives today in, a culture
based on the principles of open communication, empow-
erment, trust, and integrity. These values remain at the
forefront of our business decisions. We express these values
through ethical workplace practices; philanthropic, com-
munity, and social initiatives; and the quality of our people.