REVENUE STRATEGY - CISCO

Consumer traffic on the Net this year could exceed corporate traffic for the first time because of the popularity of online video, which consumes far more bandwidth than do static Web sites or Internet-based phone calls. Video-on-demand and personalized video distribution could be a massive driver of network consumption.

So:
1. Cisco, the world's largest maker of networking gear, is stepping up its attack on big new markets - including the consumer. It has widened its focus to include regular folks in addition to the large corporations and telecommunications services providers that make up the bulk of its base.
2. Its 2003 purchase of Linksys made Cisco the market-share king in the home wireless router business.
3. In late 2005, it acquired set-top box powerhouse Scientific-Atlanta, just in time to ride a huge wave of new demand from its cable and telecom carrier customers.
4. It has begun to announce some stand-alone products, including a line of home phones, webcams for monitoring the kids, and storage devices for creating DVD-less movie libraries.
5. It wants to become the epicenter of a "Connected Home" where consumers use Cisco software to manage how all of their devices interact - TVs, PCs, and iPods if Apple signs on.
6. A key part will be a souped-up set-top box that melds many existing products into one, including the basic TV capabilities of Scientific-Atlanta with wireless networking know-how from Linksys. Consumers could use it to take content received over cable DSL and distribute it around the house. This device will provide a browser, so users could access all manner of Web content—videos off of YouTube, video podcasts, and the like.
7. There would be versions sold in stores under the Linksys brand, and others that would be provided by cable companies and other carriers.
8. The plan is for all of Cisco's consumer products to share a layer of software that would let them work easily together, while also being personalized by consumers.
9. It has been aggressively building a team of design specialists
10. The products will be based on open standards, enabling them to be compatible with a host of rival digital devices. It intends to add its own features on top of those standards, to make its products stand out.

The three ‘Fs’ of revenue: Focus, foresight and fearlessness

Will Cisco be able to focus also on individual consumers after a career focused on large corporations and telecommunications services providers? It has the foresight to know it must and must fearlessly set about taming a new terrain.

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