HISTORY

CISCO

Cisco Systems, American technology company, operating worldwide, that is best known for
its computer networking products. As a company that sold its products mostly to other businesses,
Cisco did not become a household name, but in the second decade of the 21st century it was one
of the largest corporations in the United States. Cisco was founded in 1984 and has its headquarters
in San Jose, California.

The founders of Cisco Systems were Leonard Bosack and Sandra Lerner, a married couple
(later divorced) who had met while students at Stanford University. After graduating in 1981, they
worked at the school, directing the computer facilities of two different departments. Bosack found
a way to link their respective computer networks using technology that other Stanford employees
had devised in the 1970s. He and Lerner came to recognize that router technology, as it was called,
could be adapted very profitably for large-scale use outside the university. In December 1984 the
two founded Cisco Systems (originally written “cisco Systems”), taking the company name from
the city of San Francisco. Stanford eventually licensed its proprietary software to Cisco.
In 1985 Cisco sold its first product, a network interface card for Digital Equipment
Corporation’scomputers. Its first big success, a router that served multiple network protocols,
came the following year. In need of cash for expansion, the founders turned to a venture capital
firm, Sequoia Capital. Sequoia took effective control of the company in late 1987 and installed
John Morgridge as president and CEO in 1988. He managed ably but did not get along with the
founders. In 1990, soon after Cisco sold its first shares of stock to the public, Lerner was ousted
from the company, and Bosack subsequently quit.
Cisco Systems grew rapidly in the early 1990s. The company introduced the improved
7000 model router in 1993, and that same year it began acquiring other companies. Its first
purchase, CrescendoCommunications, allowed Cisco to move decisively into the field of network
switching devices. In 1994 the company relocated its headquarters from Menlo Park, California,
to San Jose, and the following year John T. Chambers replaced Morgridge as CEO. Chambers
continued to pursue the strategy of growth by acquisition. In 1998 Cisco bought Selsius Systems,
a company with expertise in Internet telephony that helped Cisco take a dominant position
in VoIP technology.
In 2006 Cisco introduced TelePresence, an elaboration of videoconferencing that is intended to
allow people in different locations to interact as if they were in the same place. Cisco’s networking
expertise made it a leading provider of products for the Internet of Things, a concept often credited
as having been named at Cisco. Chambers retired in 2015, as the company increasingly changed
its emphasis from hardware to software.
Robert Lewis

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cisco-Systems-Inc

GENERAL ELECTRIC

General Electric (GE), in full General Electric Company, major American corporation and one
of the largest and most-diversified corporations in the world. Its products include electrical and
electronic equipment, aircraft engines, and financial services. Headquarters are in Boston.
The company was incorporated in 1892, acquiring all the assets of the Edison General Electric
Company and two other electrical companies. Edison General had been founded as the Edison
Electric Light Company in 1878 by Thomas Alva Edison to market his incandescent lamp and
other later products. Edison remained associated with General Electric through his patents and
consulting duties.
General Electric established an industrial research laboratory in 1900, and many of its later
products were developed by in-house scientists. It produces one of the largest lines of electrical
consumer goods in the world and, through its General Electric and Hotpoint appliance brands,
became a top seller of various types of home appliances.

In 1986 GE purchased the RCA Corporation (which it had helped to found in 1919), including the
RCA-owned television network, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Inc. In 1987,
however, GE sold RCA’s consumer electronics division to Thomson SA, a state-owned French
firm, and purchased Thomson’s medical technology division. In 1989 GE agreed to combine its
European business interests in appliances, medical systems, electrical distribution, and power
systems with the formerly unrelated British corporation General Electric Company.
While its consumer products are most visible to the general public, they account for a minority of
the company’s annual sales. A substantial portion of the company’s sales are to the U.S.
Department of Defense. GE’s business groups in the early 21st century were in the areas of
commercial finance, consumer finance, infrastructure (including diesel locomotives, jet
engines, water treatment systems, and energy delivery systems such as power grids), consumer
and industrial technologies (including appliances and lighting products), health care (including
diagnostic and imaging products), and media and entertainment through NBCUniversal. In 2011
GE sold a majority stake in NBCUniversal to Comcast, which acquired the remaining shares two
years later. In 2016 GE moved its headquarters from Fairfield, Connecticut, to Boston.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/General-Electric

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
CISCO (Internal)
 Responsiveness
(External)
 Responsiveness
 Delays of order
 Authenticity
GENERAL ELECTRIC (Internal)
 Responsiveness  Dependence on third parties for raw
materials
GENERAL ELECTRIC (External)
 Differentiation  Being a strong brand, easily targeted
 Authenticity for litigation for even minor issues

https://www.interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2018/ranking/cisco/
Strategies being employed

CISCO

-Product innovation

Basically Cisco is a product innovation company but it pays attention to customer relationship as
well. Cisco’s strategy is to find end-to-end single vendor networking solution. That is why it
offers a broad range of internet hardware products and the Internet Operating System (IOS)
which allows network services on networking applications. Cisco’s goal is to sustain its
leadership in key technologies, thus remaining as first or second in all the area of market where it
operate
to develop two-tier channel resellers.

-THE INTERNET AND E-COMMERCE AT CISCO

Cisco uses internet and information technology as part of its business strategy and designed
organizational structure to become a leader in the networking market. This strategy enables
Cisco to more focus on product innovation and acquisition.

-MARKETING STRATEGY OF CISCO

1. Distribution strategy in the Marketing strategy of Cisco
- Cisco distributes its products & services through the 2-tier distribution channel and direct sales
agents. The distribution system includes resellers, professional & technical support system
providers, system installers and system integrators. Cisco distributes its products through
distributors who sell it to the resellers, system integrators & support service providers.
2. Competitive analysis in the Marketing strategy of Cisco
- Cisco a network & communication-based company is facing tough competition from
companies like Dell Inc, Alcatel-lucent, Lenovo Group Company, MicrosoftCorporation and
many others. Although Cisco competes in various niche segments like the microprocessor, cloud
computing devices, integrated circuits and much more through a diversified network of
distribution across the world but the main challenge that the company face is the price war
especially from the Asian countries like China, India etc.
3. Market analysis in the Marketing strategy of Cisco
- Cisco operates in networking & communication instruments which help in connecting the
world through transferring voice & video data over the network. Due to the presence of local,
national and MNC players in the segment, suppliers’ dominance, and rapidly changing
technological infrastructure is what makes it hard for companies to operate and be competitive at
the same time.
4. Customer analysis in the Marketing strategy of Cisco
- Cisco deals in both B2B and B2C market. While its B2C customers are a tech-savvy individual
who is looking for advanced solutions for their IT related issues, while B2B customers are the
government organisation, commercial institutions and other companies.

***(Abdurrahman, Raju Vijaya).CISCO SYSTEM's STRATEGIC USE OF THE INTERNET

AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307825703_CISCO_SYSTEM'S_STRATEGIC_USE_
OF_THE_INTERNET_AND_BUSINESS_APPLICATIONS

***(Hitesh Bhasin, 2018).Marketing Strategy of Cisco – Cisco Marketing Strategy from

https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-cisco/

General Electric Company’s Generic Strategy (Porter’s Model)

- General Electric’s main generic strategy for competitive advantage is differentiation. In this
strategy, the company’s goal is to attract target customers to products that are special and unique.
These products are made special and unique through research and development that GE is known
for.

Intensive Strategies (Intensive Growth Strategies)

1. Product Development (Primary)
- Product development is the primary intensive growth strategy in General Electric Company’s
business. Growth is achieved through new products that increase the company’s sales revenues.
For example, under this intensive strategy, GE maintains high-productivity research and
development processes.
2. Market Penetration (Secondary)
- General Electric Company implements market penetration as its secondary intensive growth
strategy. In market penetration, the company grows by increasing its customer base in current
markets. For example, General Electric applies this intensive strategy through marketing
campaigns that aim to add new customers and corresponding accounts. In this way, GE grows its
revenue base despite competitive forces.
3. Diversification
- Diversification is a minor or supporting intensive growth strategy in General Electric
Company’s operations. In diversification, growth occurs through new businesses. For example,
through this intensive strategy, General Electric has entered multiple industries throughout its
history. As a result, the company now operates in the energy, aerospace/aviation, healthcare,
electric lighting, oil and gas, and transportation industries.
4. Market Development
- General Electric Company implements market development as a supporting or minor intensive
growth strategy. In this strategy, the company grows by establishing new applications, new
markets or new market segments for its current products. For example, this intensive strategy is
applied whenever GE introduces its aviation technologies into the transportation industry and
creates a new market or market segment, accordingly.

***(Thompson A., 2017). General Electric’s (GE) Generic Strategy & Intensive Growth
Strategies from http://panmore.com/general-electric-ge-generic-strategy-intensive-growth-
strategies

The primary reasons for being a global brand

CISCO GENERAL ELECTRIC

 Contain escalating IT costs during  GE brings brand to life for both

global expansion business and consumers.
 Achieve superior Return on
Investment on IT investments
 Reduce hardware and IT operations in
remote branch offices
 Provide improved and monitoring Source:
and reporting on IT services
https://www.coursehero.com/file/p6au906/1-
(maintain SLAs for global locations)
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