Cisco to Unveil Single Network Gear, Software

Cisco Systems Inc., the No. 1 maker of Internet equipment, plans today to introduce a complete set of gear and software to combine telephone, data and video traffic over corporate computer networks.

Cisco is pushing large businesses and organizations to replace separate and costlier telephone and data networks with a single one that combines the functions using Internet technology. Products include phones that serve as extensions of the computer network instead of the traditional voice network.

With the strategy, Cisco hopes to get a leg up on arch-rivals Lucent Technologies Inc. and Nortel Networks Inc. as they race to sell equipment to handle an explosion in data traffic, fueled by use of the Internet. The move comes as Cisco’s sales to large organizations, its stronghold, are rising less than half as fast as sales to providers of telecommunications services.

“We believe we are nine to 12 months ahead of anybody else in this market,” said Jayshree Ullal, vice president and general manager of Cisco’s enterprise line of business.

Some analysts have cautioned, though, that Cisco may be too far ahead of itself and that most big corporations are at least a few years away from being ready to overhaul their complex, far-flung and disparate phone and computer networks. Small and medium-sized businesses are more likely to replace their simpler networks, analysts say.

On Friday, shares of San Jose-based Cisco closed at $70.75 on Nasdaq.