Cisco Systems has made an art of gobbling up smaller companies with hot 
technology and management talent. Since 1993, it has acquired 40 startups for a 
total of nearly $20 billion. Here are several key deals.


COMPANY/DATE        PRICE               REASON FOR DEAL

CERENT CORP.        $6.9 billion        Hot startup's gear is super-effi-
August, 1999                            cient at moving voice and Net
                                        traffic onto high-speed optical
                                        fibers. That should help Cisco
                                        become a key supplier for the
                                        core of phone networks.

GEOTEL              $2 billion          A big step for Cisco into the soft-
COMMUNICATIONS                          ware business. GeoTel makes
April, 1999                             software that manages corporate
                                        phone networks and call centers.

SUMMA FOUR          $116 million        Purchase of this manufacturer of
July, 1998                              innovative phone switches gave
                                        Cisco its first toehold in the tele-
                                        phone equipment market.

STRATACOM           $4.4 billion        To get into the market for speedy
April, 1996                             data switches, Cisco snatched up
                                        StrataCom. Revenues have grown,
                                        but a push into the phone market
                                        has yielded mixed results.

CRESCENDO           $89 million         This deal to flesh out Cisco's net-
COMMUNICATIONS                          working lineup became the
September, 1993                         model for future acquisitions.
                                        Revenues from the business unit
                                        today: $3 billion.


DATA: COMPANY REPORTS, BUSINESS WEEK