Cisco Systems is the undisputed leader in the networking space, but HP has acquired 3Com in an effort to close the gap. In addition, Juniper Networks is a strong No. 2 to Cisco among telecommunication firms and enterprises. With video consumption set to explode, networking requirements will boom too.
Cisco is the enterprise and telecom networking leader, but the company's expansion into new markets such as telepresence, collaboration, video conferencing and consumer electronics may be more notable. Cisco reloads well in an economic downturn, makes smart acquisitions such as Pure Digital, WebEx and Tandberg, and plots a long-term strategic vision well.
While Apple has dismissed Cisco's iPhone trademark suit as "silly" and many in the blogosphere have questioned whether Cisco meets all the requirements of iPhone trademark ownership, Cisco stands firm.
In an interview with News.com, Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers describes Cisco's ideal takeover target as a company with "about 100 people, primarily in an engineering product area, with good engineers that are just about to bring a new product out (or has just come out.