Strategic alliances have gained substantial attention over the recent years. Previously, firms focused on mergers and acquisitions, but strategic alliances are slowly replacing this trend owing to the various benefits associated therein. Historically, strategic alliances have been associated with increased firms’ productivity. For instance, although Nike does not manufacture shoes, it is recognized as the key athletic footwear producer following successful strategic alliances with manufacturers (Das 705). Elmuti and Kathawala (205) underscore that a strategic alliance is a mutual agreement between two or more businesses whereby they come together to achieve common goals. Initially, economists has mostly focused on dual alliances, but lately multi-company alliances have increased both in popularity and numbers (Elmuti & Kathawala 205). The latter authors expose that, the most obvious reasons for entering into such agreements is to share knowledge, costs during international ventures, gain competitive advantage and to share technological expertise (206). Furthermore, through strategic alliances former rivals have ended up creating long term partnerships thus increasing their profitability and market share (Das 709). On the same note, this essay will focus on a multi-company strategic alliance between Cisco and its’ key partners (Accenture, Microsoft and IBM) in an attempt to understand the key factors and pitfalls arising from such alliances. Moreover it is imperative to mention that, though Cisco is quite popular with strategic alliances, its’ partnership with Motorola and Ericson failed to achieve the desired results (Arndt par. 4). Mosad and Bredenlöw (449) underscore that, although most businesses would eschew from strategic alliances, if effectively executed, the strategy eliminates some business operational costs. However the authors note that, most businesses have been slow in recognizing the crucial benefits of alliances such as capital pool investment and market share expansion. Nonetheless, Cisco has been consistent in its’ decision to create and maintain numerous strategic alliances in an attempt to increase its capital base (Watenpaugh par. 4). Consequently, Cisco has been recognized as a key player in strategic alliances and recently the company achievement have been tremendous. According to Watenpaugh (par. 4), Cisco has approached strategic alliances with great expertise, and by so doing, it has managed to turnaround these partnerships into profitable ventures. For instance, Cisco has recorded a steady growth over the last two years whereby most of its’ revenues have been realized from strategic alliances ventures (Arndt par. 4). In the fiscal year ended July 2003, the company showed a 12% increase in revenue generation that was obtained though its alliance partners. However, it is imperative to mention that Cisco success in strategic alliances was not an overnight achievement; rather it was a gradual process meddled with instances of failure and partnership break ups (cisco.com). Although Cisco’s movement towards fully fledged alliances has been gradual, partnering has been part and parcel of the company’s culture (cisco.com). Nevertheless, the company’s milestone move towards heightened strategic alliances began in 200