Indeed, Cisco's market value is about 10 times that of Marconi, and above all but the biggest of UK firms. Philips, Cisco and Motorola may have shared headlines to articles on job cuts in the technology sector. Philips has, despite efforts to focus its business, remained worryingly diverse. You have to ask yourself why they remain in the same group. Cisco, meanwhile, may be struggling merely because it is coming to the end of a business cycle.
People upgrade to the latest equipment, and then feel they have spent enough.
These kinds of cycles happen. Technology winners Not all technology firms are even struggling. UK chipmaker Arm Holdings signally failed last week to accompany a results statement with an announcement of mass job cuts. This is not just because the firm employs less than 700 staff. Arm, which develops technology for use in products such as games consoles and mobile phones, has forecast continued strong demand for products and services.