Add to this mix the West Virginia accent and the image coalesces. We want to be number one or two in every market segment we enter or we won't bother entering. Sometimes doing things differently isn't necessary, especially if the market comes to you. Now the company, as always seeking larger markets, is entering the business of making equipment to carry digital telephone and video signals. Cisco is the new competitor, but the old companies are adopting Cisco's core technology for their next generation of products.
Serendipity is on Cisco's side again.
Sometimes doing things differently happens by happy accident, like the way Cisco turned the education market into a global secret weapon. Several years ago, Cisco was trying to sell routers to schools in Arizona. The educators there could afford the hardware but had no budget for staffing or upkeep. What resulted was the first Cisco Networking Academy, a program that now encompasses more than 3,300 high school and college academies in 50 states and 60 countries. Cisco maintains an online curriculum, helps train teachers, and sets standards for graduation.