TORONTO, ON - March 29, 1999 - Cisco Systems Canada Co. is pleased to announce the promotion of Pierre-Paul Allard to general manager, Cisco Systems Canada Co. The top position at the company was left vacant last year when Robert Lloyd was promoted to vice president, Enterprise Line of Business (LOB) for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Operations of Cisco Systems, Inc.

"Cisco has grown more than 500 per cent to become one of the largest information technology companies in Canada over the past four years," said Gordon Astles, vice president, Americas/International Field Operations, Cisco Systems, Inc. "The promotion of Pierre-Paul Allard recognizes the integral role he has played in achieving these exceptional results."

Pierre-Paul Allard will be responsible for all Canadian operations. These responsibilities encompass sales, marketing, finance and distribution for Cisco's Canadian customers.

In his previous position as the Director, Enterprise Operations and before that as Eastern Canada Regional Manager, Mr. Allard's leadership contributed to a highly successful performance strategy. Under his direction, Cisco grew its market share in the Eastern region by 100 per cent per year for five years and established successful sales offices in Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax and Moncton. Prior to joining Cisco, Mr. Allard held various engineering, sales and marketing positions at IBM. Mr. Allard attended the University of Ottawa where he graduated with degrees in Bachelor of Commerce, Finance; Bachelor of Administration, Marketing; and Bachelor of Science, Biology. He is on the board of Directors of La Corporation de L'Institut de Cardiologie de Quebec.

About Cisco Systems Canada Co.

Cisco Systems is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco's networking solutions connect people, computing devices and computer networks, allowing people to access or transfer information without regard to differences in time, place or type of computer system.

Every day, Cisco and its customers are proving networking and the Internet can fundamentally and profitably change through a "Global Networked Business" model. Cisco itself is a leading example of a Global Networked Business. By using networked applications, the Internet and its own internal network, Cisco is saving at least $500 million (US) per year in operating costs, while improving customer/partner satisfaction and gaining a competitive advantage in areas such as customer support, product ordering and delivery times. Cisco is today the world's largest Internet commerce site, selling more than $20 million (US) in products every day. In fiscal 1998 Cisco's annual revenues were $8.46 billion (US). As measured by market capitalization, Cisco is the third largest company on NASDAQ and among the top 40 in the world.

Cisco Systems Canada Co. was established by Cisco Systems in 1990. Headquartered in Toronto, ON., the company has more than 150 employees in Canada with regional sales and services offices across the country.

Contact:

• Martha Cass
  Strategic/Ampersand Inc.
  Phone: (416) 216-8166
  Pager: 1-800-68-CISCO (24726)
  E-mail: mcass@cisco.com