LISBON, Portugal, April 17, 2007 - Cisco®, the worldwide leader in networking, is to establish a sales operations centre in Lisbon, known as Hercules, with the support of the government of Portugal and the API (Portuguese Investment Agency.) The investment will turn Lisbon into the main centre for Cisco sales operations, aimed at supporting the sales forces of Cisco throughout the European Markets theatre, and will be part of Cisco Europe. Cisco develops and sells networking and communication technology products and services for transporting data, voice and video to customers worldwide.

The Lisbon based Hercules centre will be an integral part of the customer services organisation that supports Cisco throughout Europe. It will initially employ 50 people, rising to 80 people by the middle of 2008, and will help to increase time with customers. Cisco is working with the Portuguese government to ensure that the employees of the sales operations centre will not only speak multiple languages, and be highly trained for the role, but also cover a diverse range of age, gender, disability and experience so as to attain an exemplary standard of social inclusion.

Carlos Zorrinho, head of Lisbon agenda and a cabinet member for the Prime Minister of Portugal, said, "This decision by Cisco reinforces the position of Portugal as a centre of excellence for highly qualified people in the field of Information and Communication Technology services. This investment is a great win for Portugal coming as it does from a global market leading company such as Cisco. It is a significant step forward in demonstrating to other companies on the world stage that Portugal can successfully support complex global operations. We also welcome the decision of Cisco to include such a diverse range of employees."

Edzard Overbeek, Vice President of Commercial, Operations & Planning, European Markets, said, "Our decision to locate the primary headquarters for Hercules in Lisbon comes as recognition of many factors- first and foremost the hospitality and commitment of the Portuguese Government, the multi-lingual capabilities of the local people, and finally their professionalism and proven ability to innovate. As businesses become more global and consumers access their information at anytime, Europe is transitioning fast into the connected world, and this centre will really help us to meet increasing customer demand."

Carlos Brazao, Managing Director for Cisco Portugal, said, "We feel deeply honoured with the selection of Portugal as the location of the Hercules centre. The Cisco Portugal team is fully committed to the centre and eager to contribute to the success of the Hercules team in providing a world-class level of support to the operations of Cisco throughout the European Theatre."

For more information on employment opportunities at the Hercules sales operations centre, please visit the Cisco Portugal website at: www.cisco.pt