Partnering to Accelerate Innovation, Growth, and Customer Value

At Cisco, we have long believed in the power of relationships. Recently, I’ve laid out how we plan to be the most strategic technology partner to our customers, and while we are very focused on the opportunities ahead, it’s clear that no one company can deliver the full breadth of technology solutions that customers need at the pace the market requires. Building next-generation strategic partnerships will be as important in driving customer value and future growth as M&A has been over the last decade.

In the last few months, we’ve announced a series of strategic partnerships that unite Cisco’s portfolio, market leadership and scale with market leaders that bring complementary solutions. With Apple, we are delivering the future of mobile work, and with Inspur, we’re building the infrastructure and solutions to power cloud, data center, smart cities, and big data for one of the largest economies in the world.

Today we are announcing a new global, business and technology relationship with Ericsson. With this partnership, we’re bringing together two networking powerhouses, with a clear plan to leverage one another’s strengths and complementary portfolios to drive growth and innovation. As I look at Ericsson’s strong mobility portfolio, network management track record, and incredible global services scale and capability, I believe there is no question that we can add tremendous value to our customers together.

We’ve taken the past year to clearly solidify how we will bring together our companies and our portfolios, and we’re prepared to move with speed. In Ericsson, we’ve found a company that shares our vision for what will be possible in the digital world, and like us, they recognize the central role the network will play in meeting the goals of business and societies. We also share robust cultures of innovation, and a strong focus on the customer. It is these shared principles that will drive the success of our partnership.

I recently had the opportunity to have a conversation with Ericsson’s CEO Hans Vestberg, and I encourage you to listen in.

This partnership is yet another decisive move we are making to invest in Cisco’s market leadership for the next decade. Together, Cisco and Ericsson will create the networks of the future, and I couldn’t be more excited about collaborating to capture the opportunities ahead.