Cisco's latest foray: white goods

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 26 September 2007 11:44

IT Industry - Deals

Cisco has formed a relationship with Haier, China's largest and the world's fourth largest manufacturer of white goods to exploit the emerging market for networked appliances.

Haier is already a big Cisco customer:  its "world-class adoption of networked information technology" relies on Cisco equipment throughout its operations, according to Cisco. Now, it wants to draw on Cisco's general business expertise to help it expand internationally and into the emerging market for networked appliances.

According to the announcement "Haier is expanding its brand in international markets. Over the last two years, the group has been venturing into the networked appliance market by combining its advantages in product development, marketing and channels operations, aided largely by networked information technology."

Its CEO, Zhang Ruimin, said: "We believe it is necessary to take advantage of Cisco's business practices as a model for efficient international expansion, particularly in areas like customer service that rely heavily on networked information technology. We are looking forward to enhancing our work with Cisco and sharing best practices in both the China and overseas markets to enhance our common competitiveness."

This was reinforced by Thomas Lam, President of Cisco China, who said: "In our cooperation with Haier, Cisco will share its experiences in using networking technologies to improve corporate competitiveness, drawing on the local management and operation practices of Haier." However he added, "at the same time, we will deepen our commitment to the market for home and individual users, to provide personalised and innovative networking experiences for consumers.