Cisco to invest $1bn to expand cloud biz over next 2 years

Networking giant Cisco will invest USD one billion (about Rs 6,200 crore) over the next two years to expand its cloud business and build a “network of clouds” with partners to take on rivals like IBM and Amazon.   Cisco intends to build the world’s largest global “Intercloud” or a network of clouds to capitalise on the growing trend of companies opting for services rather than buying and maintaining own IT infrastructure.   The service will be delivered through global partners, including India’s third largest software firm Wipro, Australian telecom firm Telstra and tech distributor Ingram Micro.   Using Cisco’s cloud, partners would be able to offer services like email, conferencing and security.   “We will invest USD one billion in engineering work, setting up Cisco data centres and sales and go to market work. We have over 65,000 partners across the globe and we will engage with them and offer open, high value networks that are secure,” Cisco Senior Vice President Worldwide Cloud Sales and Go to Market, Nick Earle, told reporters here yesterday.   He added that the addressable cloud market for Cisco and ‘our’ partners is expected to rise from USD 22 billion to USD 88 billion between 2013-2017.   Partners will have the option of selling the services under Cisco name or co-brand it.   “The timing is right for Cisco and its partners to invest in a groundbreaking, application-centric global Intercloud to provide broader reach and faster time to market,” Earle said.   Cisco will also expand its cloud services portfolio, which includes SaaS offerings like WebEx and Cisco Cloud Web Security and differentiated cloud services such as hosted collaboration and cloud DVR.   The California-headquartered firm built its fortunes of over USD 49 billion in revenues, largely selling networking equipment.   PTI