Cisco Reaches Major Milestone with Half Million Career Certifications Issued

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 22, 2003 - Cisco Systems, Inc.® announced today that its Career Certifications Program, one of the IT industry's fastest-growing certification programs, has crossed the half million mark in volume as of March 2003.

With continued support from customers, Cisco Learning Partners, employees, and the Cisco Networking Academy program, the number of Cisco certifications issued worldwide continues to grow. The Cisco Career Certifications Program, which includes the highly regarded CCIE® (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert) and the popular CCNA® (Cisco Certified Network Associate), has positioned Cisco as the networking industry's foremost source of IP expertise.

"One of the biggest Cisco sales drivers is its enormously successful certifications program," said Zeus Kerravala, vice president, enterprise hardware and software, Yankee Group. "Employers have confidence that their Cisco certified employees have the training and expertise required to successfully design, implement and maintain networks."

In the past year, Cisco certifications have garnered industry accolades from trade publications such as CertCities for "Best Overall Certification Program" and "Best High Level Certification" for CCIE. Cisco was also recently recognized by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) as the only industry vendor to meet the 4011 training standard for information assurance professionals in federal departments and agencies.

"The continuing growth and adoption of Cisco Career Certifications, particularly in security and IP telephony, is evidence of Cisco's preeminence in the networking industry and increasing confidence in the competence of certified professionals," said Tom Kelly, vice president, Internet Learning Solutions Group, Cisco Systems. "For employers and network professionals alike, Cisco certifications are badges of expertise, aptitude and hands-on capability that is unparalleled in the industry."

"When the highest standards of technical expertise are required, organizations continue to seek out CCIEs," said Mike Quinn, Customer Assurance, Cisco Systems. "With 9,500 CCIEs worldwide, we are committed to ensuring these individuals remain the upper echelon of internetworking experts to allow individuals, companies, industries and countries succeed in the networked world. All our CCIE certifications, including our new and highly acclaimed voice certification, exceed the highest industry standards to maintain the integrity of our elite internetworking experts."

The widely respected Cisco Career Certifications Program brings valuable, measurable rewards to network professionals, their managers and the organizations that employ them. Cisco offers three levels of general certification-from Associate to Professional to Expert, representing the highest level of achievement-available in various paths (or tracks) and designations. A variety of Cisco Qualified Specialist focused certifications are available to show knowledge and skills in specific technologies, solutions or job roles.

Training and Availability

Training for Cisco Career Certifications is available from a global network of authorized Cisco Learning Partners and the Partner E-Learning Connection. Additionally, Cisco's new Learning Credits Program enables customers to buy training at a significant savings while providing a web-based management tool that tracks training activities throughout an organization. Program details are available at www.cisco.com/go/learningcredits and for complete training information, visit www.cisco.com/go/training.