SAN JOSE, Calif., December 10, 2004 - Today Cisco Systems® marked its 20th anniversary since its founding. Cisco's technology is the foundation for networks which are an essential part of business, education, government and home communications. In support of Cisco's 20 year culture of giving back to the communities in which we live and work, Cisco president and CEO John Chambers challenged every employee globally to volunteer one day in their community. Cisco employees have exceeded the goal of donating 175,200 hours, which equates to 20 years worth of service to the global community. Cisco began the challenge in May, 2004 and will continue until May, 2005.
With a company culture that emphasizes customer success, innovation and responsibility, Cisco® has grown from a start-up business with two employees to a global company with more than 35,000 employees in 259 cities worldwide and US $22 billion in revenue. In its infancy, the company manufactured one router; today it offers more than 40 product lines. Cisco continues to shape the future of the Internet by introducing new features, functions and technologies in its foundation routing and switching equipment, as well as in advanced technologies such as wireless, network security, voice, storage, home networking and optical.
"The past 20 years have been amazing for Cisco, but I truly believe this is only the beginning and the best is yet to come," said Chambers. "Our continuous focus on achieving results, customer satisfaction and giving back are at the heart of our culture. I am extremely proud of our employees' commitment to community investment and I believe that we are uniquely positioned with our depth and breadth of technologies and services, management strength, and industry leadership to be a company built to last and built to lead through the next 20 years, and beyond."
"Cisco has a long history of giving back which began when we were a start-up and supported our neighborhood school," said John Morgridge, chairman of the board, Cisco Systems. "We have always donated our time and expertise, as well as provided our financial support. We have focused our efforts around access to education, basic needs and economic opportunity, and we believe that in working together we can make a difference."Cisco's Commitment to the Community.
The company uses its technology and business expertise to help non profit organizations improve their operations and better serve their constituents. For example, Cisco worked closely with Seattle, Wash.-based non profit organization, Community Voice Mail, using Cisco's Unity® voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology to provide voicemail boxes for the homeless and others who may not have access to phones-which is critical to help them secure jobs and services. Some of the activities that Cisco teams and individuals around the globe have participated in for the 20 years of service challenge include:
- More than 1300 Cisco employees worldwide helped Habitat for Humanity build more than 420 houses in various cities including wiring 10 percent of them for networking.
- A team of employees from Cisco's Hungarian office volunteered one full day to help repaint fire-damaged walls of a Hungarian children's home so that the displaced children could return.
- More than 250 employees from Cisco's offices in Korea spent an entire day rejuvenating the Mt. Bookhan hiking area.
- Chambers and his senior executive team painted a building and expanded a playground at InnVision, a provider of housing and services to homeless and at-risk families and individuals in Silicon Valley, Calif.
Founded on December 10, 1984 by two Stanford University scientists, Cisco helped build the foundation for the Internet by inventing the first multi-protocol router that launched the Internet revolution. Today, Cisco's networking and advanced technologies allow individuals, organization and countries to improve communications, productivity and profitability. Twenty years later, the mission of the company has remained consistent: changing the way we work, live, play and learn.
