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Defining The Business Value Of Technology
February 28, 2000
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Moving Down The Line: Cisco Targets Smaller Businesses
"It's an exciting market, and we see a lot of potential," says Charles Giancarlo, Cisco's senior VP for small and midsize business. The unit has been growing at roughly 60%, according to Giancarlo, and accounts for about 15% to 20% of Cisco's revenue.
AgencyWorks, which develops and hosts management applications, first alerted Chittenden to Cisco's small- and midsize-business offerings. "I was really surprised that they suggested Cisco for our infrastructure equipment," says Chittenden, who was looking to replace a minicomputer, dumb terminals, and a single dial-up access workstation with an open systems network and digital subscriber line connections. When Chittenden went to US West to sign up for DSL service, he was again surprised to find it recommended Cisco's DSL modems. Cisco hardware proved affordable: The Chittenden Group's restructuring project cost about $100,000, including $12,000 to $15,000 for three Cisco catalyst switches and two voice-enabled routers.
Giancarlo says Cisco is gaining mindshare among small businesses, a market that companies such as 3Com Corp. and Intel are also targeting. Cisco says it has gained more than half the low-end and small-office/home-office router markets. It also ranks first in selling fixed-port Layer 2 switches, which are used primarily by small and midsize businesses, according to the Dell'Oro Group. The Cisco Resource Network, a self-service advice Web site, also was launched last year to serve these customers.
avid Chittenden, CEO of the Chittenden Group in Phoenix, says he never thought Cisco Systems would be the Internet-access and infrastructure supplier behind his small company. Would the router vendor of large companies and Internet service providers want to do business with a 20-employee wholesale insurance firm? As it turns out, it does.
Return to main story, "Sizzling Cisco."
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