Brand: Cisco
Country of Origin: United States 🇺🇸
Founded: 1984
Industry: Networking, Cybersecurity, AI Infrastructure & Enterprise Technology
Company: Cisco Systems, Inc.
Headquarters: San Jose, California, United States
Official Website: Cisco Official Website
Featured By: ASIA Best Brands — Global Brands
About Cisco
Cisco is one of the world’s leading enterprise technology companies, best known for the networking technologies that help organisations connect people, devices, applications and data.
Its portfolio today extends across networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, observability, cloud management and AI infrastructure, giving Cisco an important role in the digital systems that businesses and governments rely on every day.
From Connecting Networks to Connecting the World
Founder of Cisco System. Image Source: Valmor-Networks.
Cisco was founded in 1984 by computer scientists Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, who were working at Stanford University.
Their early work focused on enabling computers operating on different networks to communicate with one another. Cisco subsequently developed and commercialised networking equipment that helped organisations connect increasingly complex computer systems.
As internet adoption accelerated, Cisco became closely associated with routers, switches and other infrastructure that helped carry digital traffic between networks.
Over four decades, the company expanded from networking hardware into a much broader enterprise technology business.
Networking at the Core
Networking remains central to Cisco’s identity.
Its technologies are used across data centres, corporate campuses, telecommunications networks, cloud environments and industrial systems, helping organisations move information securely and reliably.
As businesses increasingly depend on cloud computing, connected devices and artificial intelligence, networks must handle much greater volumes of data while maintaining performance and security.
Cisco is therefore developing networking infrastructure not only for today’s internet traffic, but also for the rapidly growing demands of AI workloads.
Cybersecurity, Observability and Splunk
Cybersecurity has become another major pillar of Cisco’s business.
The company offers technologies spanning firewalls, identity protection, zero-trust access, threat detection and security for AI systems.
In 2024, Cisco completed its approximately US$28 billion acquisition of Splunk, significantly expanding its capabilities in security, observability and machine-data analytics.
The combination allows Cisco to connect networking infrastructure with greater visibility into applications, systems and security threats — an increasingly important requirement as enterprise IT environments become more complex.
Building Infrastructure for the AI Era
Artificial intelligence is becoming one of Cisco’s most important growth areas.
Cisco is developing infrastructure that combines networking, computing, security and observability to support organisations building and deploying AI systems.
In August 2026, Cisco reported US$9.3 billion in AI infrastructure orders from hyperscale customers during fiscal 2026, reflecting rapidly growing demand for the networking technologies required by large AI environments.
Cisco has also expanded its Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA, combining AI networking, computing and security into integrated infrastructure for enterprises and cloud providers.
From Traditional IT to Agentic Operations
Cisco Cloud Control: Unified Operations for Agentic IT. Image Source: Cisco.
Cisco’s transformation increasingly involves artificial intelligence inside IT operations themselves.
In 2026, the company introduced Cisco Cloud Control, a unified platform designed for human operators and AI agents to work together across networking, security, compute, observability and collaboration systems.
The platform reflects Cisco’s broader AgenticOps strategy, where AI can assist teams with identifying problems, analysing infrastructure and automating selected operational tasks while maintaining human oversight.
This represents a significant evolution from Cisco’s traditional role as a provider of network equipment toward becoming a broader platform for managing intelligent digital infrastructure.
A Strong Presence Across Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China form one of Cisco’s major geographic business regions.
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Cisco reported that revenue in its APJC region increased 14% year over year, demonstrating continued demand across the region.
Cisco also has a long-standing presence in digital education through Cisco Networking Academy.
By fiscal 2025, the company reported reaching approximately 3.4 million learners across Asia Pacific, Japan and China toward its regional digital and cybersecurity skills goals.
Its regional initiatives extend across markets including India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
Global Scale and Business Strength
Cisco remains one of the world’s largest enterprise technology companies.
For the fiscal year ended July 25, 2026, Cisco reported record annual revenue of approximately US$63.3 billion, representing growth of 12% from the previous year.
Networking remained a major driver, while security, observability, collaboration and AI infrastructure continued expanding Cisco’s role beyond its traditional hardware business.
The company now operates at the intersection of some of the most important technology trends shaping enterprises: AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, data centres and digital connectivity.
Why Cisco Is Featured on ASIA Best Brands
Cisco demonstrates how a technology brand can remain relevant by continually evolving alongside major changes in computing.
From helping organisations connect separate computer networks in the 1980s to developing AI-scale networking, cybersecurity, observability and agentic IT platforms, Cisco has repeatedly expanded the role of network infrastructure.
Its substantial presence throughout Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China, together with its investment in digital skills and enterprise technology across the region, strengthens its relevance to Asia’s continuing digital transformation.
By connecting and protecting the infrastructure behind modern organisations, Cisco remains an important global technology brand featured on ASIA Best Brands.
Official Website:
Cisco Official Website
Category: Enterprise Technology | Networking | Cybersecurity | Artificial Intelligence
Tags: Cisco, Cisco Systems, Networking, Cybersecurity, AI Infrastructure, Splunk, Enterprise Technology, Cloud Computing, Digital Transformation, ASIA Best Brands
Sources
1. Cisco — Official Website
Official information covering Cisco’s technology portfolio and solutions.
Cisco Official Website
2. Cisco — About Us
Official company information covering headquarters, products and business areas.
Cisco About Us
3. Cisco — Company History
Official timeline covering Cisco’s founding and development since 1984.
Cisco History
4. Cisco — Fiscal Year 2026 Results
Latest official financial results covering revenue, networking growth and AI infrastructure orders.
Cisco FY2026 Results
5. Cisco — Splunk Acquisition
Official information covering Cisco’s US$28 billion acquisition of Splunk and its security and observability strategy.
Cisco Completes Acquisition of Splunk
6. Cisco — Cloud Control and AgenticOps
Official information on Cisco’s 2026 platform for managing critical infrastructure with AI agents.
Cisco Cloud Control
7. Cisco — Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA
Official information covering Cisco’s latest AI infrastructure architecture and NVIDIA collaboration.
Cisco Secure AI Factory
8. Cisco — Digital Skills in Asia Pacific
Official information covering Cisco Networking Academy and digital-skills initiatives across Asia Pacific, Japan and China.
Cisco Learning and Digital Skills