There's always a way to edit the past. So it goes when you're thought of as one of the most influential companies on the Internet. Which must make Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers chortle a bit. Not just on the Net, but in all economic annals. It's almost as if, Probe Research analyst Hilary Mine reminds, the company that builds ties takes credit for the railroad revolution.
Chambers has a pretty good case.
The Net is in its infancy. Its tidal-wave effect on business is only now being felt in North America. The world is largely virgin. Cisco has a good shot at keeping its 70 percent or so domination of the gear that will run data networks worldwide. Its Internetwork Operating System has the same grip on that gear as Windows has on the desktop.