SYDNEY -- 22 March 2000 -- Cisco Systems Senior Vice President, Howard Charney, told a record delegation at Cisco's Networkers 2000 conference in Melbourne today that the global business community had only just begun to reap the rewards of using the Internet to increase efficiency and serve customers.

Addressing more than 1,050 delegates at Australasia's largest annual Internet conference, Mr Charney said the Internet is to the new millennium what Johan Gutenberg's printing press was to the last. "The Internet is affecting a similar dislocation a dislocation that is having an enormous impact on business and the economy," he said.

According to Charney, the Internet will level the playing field between companies and between countries on a worldwide basis, but suggested the real gains to be had from the net as a business environment were yet to come for most businesses.

"We've all just scratched the surface on this and yet there are already major trends emerging," Mr Charney said.

"In the Internet Economy, it won't necessarily be the big companies or countries beating the smaller ones or vice versa, rather the game is now about the fast versus the slow. As it has been since the beginning of time, agility is essential not only to success...but to survival."

Mr Charney outlined how Cisco and other leading companies have adapted to the Internet and made significant savings.

"I use Cisco as a key example because not only are we the worldwide leader of networking for the Internet with over 80% of Internet traffic running across Cisco products; we fully utilise the Internet in running our own business and are a leading example of an Internet Economy company."

Mr Charney's address was the highlight of day one of the three day Networkers 2000 conference, held this year for the first time at Melbourne's Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Delegates to the Conference have access to more than 90 interactive sessions, ranging from Internet business strategies to in depth discussions about networking technologies.

Cisco's Australia & New Zealand Marketing Manager, Kip Cole, said the conference was a sell out, and the 1050 delegates in attendance was a 60 per cent improvement on 1999.

"This reflects the increasing demand for knowledge about the Internet and networking amongst business and industry. Cisco is finding increasingly that there is a thirst for information about business in the new world and how technology can make that happen."

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at http://www.cisco.com.

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