Cisco Merger Strategy
Cisco IT Case Study Acquisition Integration
How Cisco Applies Companywide Expertise for Integrating Acquired Companies
Faster, smoother integrations help to realize acquisition value.
Cisco on Cisco Case Study/Business Management/Cisco Acquisition Integration: Acquiring companies that offer attractive technologies, products, or market opportunities has been a major growth strategy for Cisco®. To help integrate these companies rapidly, consistently, and with minimal disruption, Cisco has formed cross-functional teams, defined common principles, and developed standard processes. This wellestablished approach to integration allows Cisco the ability to quickly gain the value expected from the acquisition, among other benefits. Cisco customers can draw on Cisco 's real-world experience in this area to help support similar enterprise needs.
CHALLENGE
Acquiring other companies is an important strategy for Cisco to rapidly offer new products, reach new markets, and grow revenue. Since 1993, Cisco has acquired more than 120 companies, from small startups to large, wellestablished firms such as Linksys, Scientific Atlanta, and WebEx. Integrating the employees, products, services, operations, systems, and processes of acquired companies can be a daunting effort. With multiple acquisitions occurring each year, it became clear that Cisco could not approach the integration effort in an improvised manner, with different personnel and activities engaged each time. Instead, acquisition integration needed to become a standard way of doing business for Cisco employees. Cisco needed an integration approach that would be consistent across the company, repeatable for each new acquisition, and adaptable as Cisco began to acquire large companies with different operational parameters. “Cisco acquires only companies that will help to grow
“We centralize acquisition integration for several good reasons: It is efficient, and it allows us to capture best practices, use our skills
How Cisco Applies Companywide Expertise for Integrating Acquired Companies
Faster, smoother integrations help to realize acquisition value.
Cisco on Cisco Case Study/Business Management/Cisco Acquisition Integration: Acquiring companies that offer attractive technologies, products, or market opportunities has been a major growth strategy for Cisco®. To help integrate these companies rapidly, consistently, and with minimal disruption, Cisco has formed cross-functional teams, defined common principles, and developed standard processes. This wellestablished approach to integration allows Cisco the ability to quickly gain the value expected from the acquisition, among other benefits. Cisco customers can draw on Cisco 's real-world experience in this area to help support similar enterprise needs.
CHALLENGE
Acquiring other companies is an important strategy for Cisco to rapidly offer new products, reach new markets, and grow revenue. Since 1993, Cisco has acquired more than 120 companies, from small startups to large, wellestablished firms such as Linksys, Scientific Atlanta, and WebEx. Integrating the employees, products, services, operations, systems, and processes of acquired companies can be a daunting effort. With multiple acquisitions occurring each year, it became clear that Cisco could not approach the integration effort in an improvised manner, with different personnel and activities engaged each time. Instead, acquisition integration needed to become a standard way of doing business for Cisco employees. Cisco needed an integration approach that would be consistent across the company, repeatable for each new acquisition, and adaptable as Cisco began to acquire large companies with different operational parameters. “Cisco acquires only companies that will help to grow
“We centralize acquisition integration for several good reasons: It is efficient, and it allows us to capture best practices, use our skills