SHANGHAI, October 12, 2010 – Cisco today held a grand ceremony to mark the 5th anniversary of the Cisco China Research and Development Center (CRDC). Established in 2005, CRDC has become the third largest R&D center for Cisco around the world. With more than 2,200 engineers working in five different sites (Shanghai, Hefei, Shenzhen, Suzhou and Hangzhou), the center helps develop innovative networking technologies and products for use in Cisco products in China and around the world.

As a key part of Cisco's global research network, CRDC provides solutions for the company's customers around the globe providing support for all the market segments in which Cisco operates. The center also partners with a number of leading local universities and research institutes on several areas including developing green technologies and producing products specifically to serve the local market.

"As Cisco's engine for innovation, CRDC has fully demonstrated our long-term commitment to China through our five-year presence in the country. In line with Cisco's global R&D strategy, CRDC now represents a global research center of excellence, providing innovative technologies, products and solutions for the global market," said Owen Chan, Chairman and CEO, Cisco Greater China Theater. "Cisco will continue to work together with leading Chinese universities and other research partners on developing innovative solutions for both the local and international markets."

In recognition of the strategic importance of China, Cisco established the Greater China Theater earlier this year allowing for a more focused strategy and breadth of resources to fully support the growth of the unique China market.

As part of Cisco's commitment to being a trusted partner during China's transformation, Cisco has reinforced its focus on developing solutions around the major market transitions happening in China; urbanization, cloud computing, SMB market development and the 3-network convergence.

Smart+Connected Community/city cloud:

• Cisco will collaborate with more Chinese cities to create the Smart+Connected Communities to support China's intelligent urbanization.
• Cisco has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chongqing and a Framework Agreement with Chengdu respectively on the city platform and the city cloud establishment to help achieve better city management and higher quality of life for residents.
• The Smart+Connected Community initiatives in the two cities have the potential to be replicated in other Chinese cities.

Architecture play:

• There are several major market transitions underway today: Collaboration, Video, Datacenter/Virtualization and Cloud. These market transitions, centered on networks, are fueling the evolution of the "Next Generation Internet," which enable a much richer user experience that is increasingly collaborative, media-rich, personalized and mobile.
• In line with its global priorities and initiatives, Cisco is investing in three technology focus areas, (borderless network, collaboration and datacenter/virtualization), to deliver the "Next Generation Internet."  Cisco will also continue to work closely with service providers in China to deploy the IP Next Generation Network Architecture.
• Local partners will be included in the execution to ensure effectiveness and to support business growth.

SMB market development:

• Cisco is putting strong focus on the SMB market and working closely with channel partners to advance the informatization of SMBs in China
• For Cisco, collaborating with partners in China includes more specialized solutions and products designed for and in China with Chinese partners.
• Cisco will recruit and train more local partners, as well as customize business models in order to deliver value added solutions to address the needs of SMBs in Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities

"Today's event has further demonstrated our progress and confidence in China and we see vast opportunities for China to play a critical role in our globalization efforts as a whole. CRDC will continue to play an important part in ensuring we continue to innovate as we execute on our growth opportunities with increased speed, scale and agility," Chan concluded.