SAN JOSE, Calif., May 30, 2006 - Cisco Systems Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems®, announced zero percent progress payments for 120 days on Cisco® Unified Communications projects. Qualified Cisco Capital customers may now ask that Cisco Capital make scheduled payments on their projects as preset milestones are reached. The financing option is designed to help Cisco enterprise and commercial channel partners manage their cash flow on projects with long implementation times.

"Cisco Capital acknowledges that a network isn't build overnight and that Cisco Unified Communications projects require a channel partner to make an upfront payment, or multiple payments, to suppliers during the period of customer implementation," said Maryann Von Seggern, director of worldwide channels development, Cisco Capital. "Zero percent progress payments allow us to help channel partners get paid faster, while managing customer expectations with a structured deployment schedule."

"Managing cash flow is important to any growing company." said Brett Rimkus, chief financial officer at Berbee, a Cisco Gold Certified Partner. "Progress payments allow us to match our revenue cash flows with our expenses, and they also allow us to extend the same benefits to our clients, through Cisco Capital's leasing program, without hindering our cash flow. This results in a successful project, both technically and financially."

Offer Details

To take advantage of this financing offer, channel partners must hold the Cisco IP Communications (IPC) specialization, and the project must entail a minimum transaction of $50,000. The deployment milestones are arranged by the channel partner and customer; the maximum amount funded prior to lease commencement is 80 percent. Payment at each of the agreed-upon stages is made by Cisco Capital to the channel partner upon authorization from the customer, and on payment of the final stage, the total investment is transferred to a lease.

Zero percent progress payments are currently available in the United States and Canada. For more information on zero percent progress payments, please visit: www.cisco.com/go/ciscocapitalpartners/us.

About Cisco Systems Capital

Cisco Capital's channel financing solutions are designed to provide partners with the power to grow their business. Cisco Capital offers attractive, flexible and short-term financing solutions that make it possible for Cisco partners to obtain higher credit lines, and longer and more flexible terms, that ultimately help them build stronger and healthier businesses. Additionally, Cisco Capital provides partner-only programs, financial incentives, tools, and partner-friendly processes to add value, profitability and ease of use to their projects.