Please answer the attached questions from the attached file

Cisco Systems, Inc. 2014 Annual Report Annual Report 2014 Letter to Shareholders To Our Shareholders, When we look back on fiscal 2014, we could describe it as one of the most innovative years in Cisco's history. Through our innovation strategy of build, buy, partner, and integrate, we brought new architectures to market for the next generation of networking, security, data center, and collaboration products and solutions, and we made bold moves to help our customers capitalize on the changes in the market. We managed our business well amid a great deal of change and a tough market. Our fiscal year began with several external headwinds, including the U.S. federal government shutdown and the possibility of a U.S. default, combined with a significant slowdown in emerging countries. Even with this backdrop, we ended fiscal 2014 with revenue of $47.1 billion, making it the second strongest year in our history. We also continued to make progress in driving a greater software mix and higher recurring revenue, which are key pillars of our strategy. We remain focused on shareholder value creation by maintaining the flexibility to make the right long-term strategic decisions for our company, driving efficiencies in our cost structure and returning capital through dividends and share repurchase to our shareholders. During fiscal 2014 we delivered strong operating margins. Additionally, we were very pleased to have substantially exceeded our goal of returning a minimum of 50% of our free cash flow annually to shareholders by returning $9.5 billion through share buybacks and $3.8 billion in dividends, totaling a record $13.3 billion returned to shareholders in the fiscal year. It is clearer than ever that every company is becoming a technology company, with the common element being the network at the center, driven by applications and enabling the rapid introduction of new business models, which are disrupting old models in record time. Every company is increasingly dependent on the network, not just for communications but also for how the company runs, analyzes, and grows its business. In this paradigm, the reliability, scale, speed, and application-centricity of the network are even more important, and we believe this is where our unique strength lies. As the leader trusted by businesses and governments, with approximately 70,000 partners and an installed base of approximately $200 billion, Cisco is very well positioned to capture this opportunity. With this robust foundation, we are able to provide our customers with an integrated, network-centric architectural solution that not only solves their IT challenges but also helps them achieve their desired business outcomes. Our vision is clear, and our strategy is working and has largely played out as we expected. In 2011, I said that customers will view the network as the most strategic asset, not just in communications but also in IT and that this would enable us to become the number-one IT company. I am more confident than ever that we can make that aspiration a reality. Innovation, Disruption, and Transformation The pace of change being experienced in almost every industry today is unprecedented. Companies are telling us that in order to seize the huge opportunities, as well as navigate the challenges that are presented by the Internet of Everything (IoE), they need a new model that transforms IT operations and unifies infrastructure, platforms, and applications to reduce complexity, accelerate service deployment, and increase security. At Cisco we call this model \"Fast IT.\" Importantly, Fast IT brings fast innovation for the company and embraces the cloud, virtualization, and mobility technology transitions, as well as data analytics, security, and the Internet-connected network of everyday physical objects commonly referred to as the Internet of Things. We believe the Fast IT model is the IT operating model for the IoE. In our view, success in delivering Fast IT is dependent on the ability to bring together multiple technologies and services into architectures, solutions, and outcomes in a way that only Cisco can. In fiscal 2014, we introduced several crucial components of Fast IT, the most fundamental of which is our Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) platform. ACI is Cisco's vision for the next generation of networking, in which networks are fully responsive to the applications that are driving our economy. Cisco's ACI solution is unique in its ability to offer full visibility and integrated management of both physical and virtual networked IT resources, all built around the needs of applications. The initial feedback we have received from customers on ACI has been extremely positive, and the momentum is strong. We believe we are now delivering on the benefits promised by software-defined networking (SDN) in a way that no one yet has been able Cisco Systems, Inc. 1 Annual Report 2014 Letter to Shareholders to do, and our customers are recognizing us as the leader in SDN. Similarly, we have enhanced our offering to service providers, as they embrace network function virtualization, by launching new products intended to make network infrastructure more open, programmable, virtualized, and automated than ever before. During the year, we expanded our leadership in cloud infrastructure and the private and hybrid cloud markets by introducing new cloud solutions designed to address the public cloud opportunity and the fragmentation of cloud environments. By facilitating the interconnection of private, hybrid, and public clouds to create our \"Intercloud\" offering, we are enabling customers to move their cloud workloads across heterogeneous clouds according to their needs, with the necessary policy, management, and security. We are focused on delivering high-value cloud services and expanding our Intercloud ecosystem with partners who are embracing the Cisco ACI vision and our open approach in order to differentiate their cloud offers through the value of the network. We augmented our own internal development with eight strategic acquisitions in fiscal 2014, four in the software space and two each in the areas of data center and security, which, we believe, will enable us to extend our market leadership and create new opportunities. We recognize the growing shift in our customer base toward software-enabled business models as well as subscription- and license-based consumption models, and we are constantly evaluating companies that have built and refined capabilities that deliver value to customers. We are particularly pleased that several of our acquisitions, Sourcefire and Meraki being two examples, are now growing more quickly within Cisco than they were as standalone companies. This momentum, in our view, highlights the value of integrating leading technologies into broader architectures and solutions. We also continue to take the bold steps necessary to transform our business model. As a company, we have always embraced change, and that has enabled us to lead in the market for almost 30 years. Three years ago, we saw that the changes occurring in our market, many of which are being driven by the network, would require transformational change for Cisco. To address the accelerating pace of change in the market, we began a transformation plan to drive greater innovation, speed, agility, and efficiency in our business and to transform Cisco from a company selling networking boxes into one selling architectures, solutions, and business outcomes. 2 Cisco Systems, Inc. In fiscal 2014, that transformation continued but has not finished yet. We continue to align our employees and resources to high-priority growth opportunities and to develop, retain, and attract the skills, capabilities, experience, and knowledge we need in our future workforce. In fiscal 2014, we restructured our engineering team in order to implement a more agile, cross-functional development model. We also began the integration of our product and services sales teams into a unified solutions sales force, a significant step forward in the acceleration of our strategy. The customer has always been our number-one priority, but today, more than ever, we are realigning ourselves to deliver the business outcomes for which our customers are asking. Winning in the Market We are the market leader in most of our markets, with one of the broadest portfolios, providing a differentiated competitive advantage. We win, in our view, by delivering innovations such as Application Centric Infrastructure and security and in integrated architectures and solutions that enable our customers to accelerate their business opportunities, cut their costs, and reduce their risk. We are investing aggressively in the growth markets that are most important to our customers. As we look to the future, we see long-term opportunities to continue to drive profitable growth, most notably in cloud, data center, mobility, security, collaboration, services, and software. We realize that we must rebalance our resources and continue to invest in innovation and talent in order to capitalize on these opportunities and continue to lead in this dynamic environment. Financial Highlights For fiscal 2014, revenue was $47.1 billion, a decrease of 3% compared with fiscal 2013. Product revenue was $36.2 billion, a decrease of 5%, while Service revenue increased 4% to $11.0 billion, accounting for 23% of total revenue. Deferred revenue increased by 5% from the prior year, due partly to increased subscription offerings. We expect both deferred and recurring revenue to grow as software revenues increase in the overall mix. Net income was $7.9 billion, down 21% from fiscal 2013, while earnings per share on a fully diluted basis were $1.49, down 20% year over year. Our balance sheet remains strong, with total assets in fiscal 2014 of $105.1 billion, representing a 4% increase from Annual Report 2014 Letter to Shareholders fiscal 2013. Cash, cash equivalents, and investments were $52.1 billion, and we generated $12.3 billion in cash flows from operating activities during the fiscal year. With respect to our fiscal 2014 revenue performance by geographic segment, the Americas declined by 3%; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) declined by 2%; and Asia Pacific, Japan, and China (APJC) declined by 5% as compared with the prior fiscal year. Early in the year, we called out the challenges in emerging countries, and those challenges persisted throughout the year. Economic and geopolitical challenges in Brazil, Russia, India, China and Mexico (BRICM countries), as well as the next 15 largest emerging countries, affected our revenue performance in each of our geographic segments. We saw growth across our enterprise and commercial segments throughout the year, with particular strength in the United States. These are the customer markets that have seen the early success of our transformation, successfully selling integrated architectures, solutions, and outcomes. We did see continued challenges in our Service Provider customer market. We have identified and tracked these challenges and are working hard to address them. From a technology perspective, we have executed very well in several key areas. Revenue in fiscal 2014 for the Data Center category increased 27% year over year. Less than five years after entering the server market with an innovative architectural approach in our Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS), we gained the number-one position in revenue share for x86 blade servers in the United States, and we currently have the number-two position worldwide. Security was another area of strength, growing revenue by 16% during the year. Our Sourcefire acquisition has helped accelerate our growth in Security, demonstrating the relevance and power of an integrated security architecture in the market today. Switching revenue fell 5% compared with the prior fiscal year, driven by declines in our campus switching business, especially at the high end. In data center switching, although we see great momentum with our Cisco Nexus 9000 and ACI products, we continue to manage through product transitions. Similarly, revenue for Next-Generation Network (NGN) Routing was lower by 7%, but demand for our new high-end routing product platforms, the Cisco NCS 6000 Series and the CRS-X, has continued to ramp, and we are focused on continuing to manage the transition to new platforms in fiscal 2015. Service revenue increased 4% from the prior fiscal year, driven by strong renewals, large multiyear service wins, strong technical services performance, and growth in new business such as consulting and managed services. We continue to focus on the integration of our product and services businesses to deliver the solutions and new business models our customers are seeking. LOOKING FORWARD In our view, the innovations that we have driven in fiscal 2014 in our business model as well as our portfolio including new high-end switching and routing products along with developments in wireless, security, and collaboration position us strongly for the future. Today, we are delivering solutions, not just technology, in a way we haven't done in the past. But we still have more to do. In fiscal 2015 you will see us continue to take actions to accelerate our transformation in every possible aspect - from how we are organized, to how we develop products, to how customers buy from us. Our transformation is about ensuring we change and accelerate more quickly than the market, so we can help our customers embrace both the change and opportunities that come from the market disruption. We will lean forward in every way to position Cisco to capitalize on our growth opportunities profitably and to ensure we are making the decisions to ensure our long term success. We are investing to lead through market transitions that will drive value to our customers and to you, our shareholders. As we close calendar year 2014 by celebrating Cisco's 30th anniversary, we have our sights set firmly on becoming the number one IT company, measured by relevance to our customers. We believe we will achieve this through our architectural approach, delivering solutions for our customers and helping them achieve their desired outcomes. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your unwavering support as we take the bold steps necessary in pursuit of this goal. John T. Chambers Chairman & CEO, Cisco September 9, 2014 Cisco Systems, Inc. 3 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K (Mark one) ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended July 26, 2014 or ' TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to Commission file number 0-18225 CISCOof SYSTEMS, charter) INC. (Exact name Registrant as specified in its California 77-0059951 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (IRS Employer Identification No.) 170 West Tasman Drive San Jose, California 95134-1706 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (408) 526-4000 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of Each Class: Name of Each Exchange on which Registered Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ' No Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ' Yes No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ' No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ' No Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of \"large accelerated filer,\" \"accelerated filer\" and \"smaller reporting company\" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer Accelerated filer ' Non-accelerated filer ' (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) Smaller reporting company ' Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). ' Yes No Aggregate market value of registrant's common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based upon the closing price of a share of the registrant's common stock on January 24, 2014 as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market on that date: $114,846,004,146 Number of shares of the registrant's common stock outstanding as of September 4, 2014: 5,099,203,169 DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Portions of the registrant's Proxy Statement relating to the registrant's 2014 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, to be held on November 20, 2014, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K where indicated. PART I Item 1. Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Item 1A. Risk Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Item 2. Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Item 3. Legal Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 PART II Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Item 6. Selected Financial Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Item 9B. 123 Other Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PART III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Item 11. Executive Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters . . . . . . 123 Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 PART IV Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the \"Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,\" contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 (the \"Securities Act\") and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the \"Exchange Act\"). All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about the industries in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. Words such as \"expects,\" \"anticipates,\" \"targets,\" \"goals,\" \"projects,\" \"intends,\" \"plans,\" \"believes,\" \"seeks,\" \"estimates,\" \"continues,\" \"endeavors,\" \"strives,\" \"may,\" variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, our anticipated growth and trends in our businesses, and other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict, including those identified below, under \"Item 1A. Risk Factors,\" and elsewhere herein. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason. PART I Item 1. Business General We design, manufacture, and sell Internet Protocol (IP) based networking products and services related to the communications and information technology (IT) industry. Our customers include businesses of all sizes, public institutions, telecommunications companies, other service providers and individuals. We connect people, process, data and things with products that transport data, voice, and video within buildings, across campuses, and around the world. We are a key strategic partner to companies that helps them as they seek to make the most of the Internet of Everything (IoE) and connect the unconnected. We conduct our business globally and manage our business by geography. Our business is organized into the following three geographic segments: The Americas; Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific, Japan, and China (APJC). For revenue and other information regarding these segments, see Note 17 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. We were incorporated in California in December 1984, and our headquarters are in San Jose, California. The mailing address of our headquarters is 170 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, California 95134-1706, and our telephone number at that location is (408) 526-4000. Our website is www.cisco.com. Through a link on the Investor Relations section of our website, we make available the following filings as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. All such filings are available free of charge. The information posted on our website is not incorporated into this report. As part of our business focus on the network as the platform for all forms of communications and IT, our products and services are designed to help our customers use technology to address their business imperatives and opportunitiesdriving growth, improving productivity, reducing costs, mitigating risk, and gaining a competitive advantage. We deliver networking products and solutions designed to simplify and secure customers' network infrastructures and help them connect more effectively with their key stakeholders, including their customers, prospects, business partners, suppliers, and employees. We continually focus on delivering products and solutions that leverage the network to most effectively address market transitions. In recent periods, we have developed and delivered products and services to address the transitions driven by virtualization, cloud, software, collaboration, and video. Our products and technologies are grouped into the following categories: Switching; NextGeneration Network (NGN) Routing; Service Provider Video; Collaboration; Data Center; Wireless; Security; and Other Products. We believe that integrating products and services into architectures and solutions helps our customers reduce their operational complexity, increase their agility, and reduce their total cost of network ownership. Network architectures, developed from our core routing and switching technologies, are evolving to accommodate the demands of increasing numbers of users, network applications, and new network-related markets. These new markets are a natural extension of our core business and have emerged as the network has become the platform for provisioning, integrating, and delivering an ever-increasing array of IT-based products and services. 1 Strategy and Focus Areas Our strategy is to deliver the integrated architectures, solutions, and outcomes to help our customers grow, manage costs, and mitigate risk. We see our customers, in almost every industry, becoming increasingly reliant on technologyand specifically the networkto meet their business objectives and compete successfully in the market. Our focus continues to be on capitalizing on market transitions to maintain leadership in our core markets and to enter new markets where the network is foundational. We believe this focus best positions us to become a more relevant and trusted partner to our customers and to expand our share of our customers' IT spending. We are focused on driving the innovation, speed, agility, and efficiencies in our company required to deliver leading technology solutions for our customers and shareholder value for our investors. Over the last few years, we have been working to transform our business to move from selling individual products and services to selling products and services integrated into architectures and solutions, as well as to meet customers' business outcomes. As a part of this transformation, we are making changes to how we are organized and how we deliver our technology. We believe these changes enable us to better meet our customers' requirements and help them stay ahead of market transitions. As part of the ongoing transformation of our business, we continue to drive product transitions in our core business, including the introduction of next-generation products with better price-performance and architectural advantages compared with both our prior generation of products and the product offerings of our competitors. We believe that many of these product transitions are gaining momentum based on the strong year-over-year product revenue growth in certain of the new products, but we do continue to manage through the transitions of several of our existing key product platforms, and we continue to see the impact thereof on our overall core performance. Going forward, a focus on utilizing our core products within the integrated solutions that we provide customers to meet their business outcomes will be a critical part of our strategy. In our view our routing and switching product leadership has been foundational to our success in the data center market. We initially captured the market transition to converged infrastructure, bringing together networking, compute, and storage into one integrated architecture with the Unified Computing System (UCS). We continue to expand the opportunity relating to UCS, including incorporating the UCS solution within our solutions for cloud and virtualization. We believe that disruption in the enterprise data center market is accelerating, due to changing technology trends that, we believe, depend on an intelligent networktrends such as network virtualization, cloud, and the increased demands of applications. To take advantage of our position in our customers' network infrastructure, we are implementing strategies and offering strong products to address each of these major transitions, including: Virtualization, which we refer to as the process of creating a virtual, or nonphysical, version of a device or resource, such as a server, storage device, network, or operating system, in such a way that users as well as other devices and resources are able to interact with the virtual resource as if it were an actual physical resource. The cloud, which we refer to as an IT hosting and delivery system in which resources, such as servers or software applications, are no longer tethered to a user's physical infrastructure but instead are delivered to and consumed by the user \"on demand\" as an Internet-based service, whether singularly or with multiple other users simultaneously. We also remain focused on continued investment in our services portfolio, tightly integrated with our product portfolio, to deliver the solutions our customers want. A few examples of new service offerings include security services, cloud and managed services and consulting services. Among our other areas of focus are: Our security products, where we are seeing strong momentum as we integrate our recently acquired Sourcefire, Inc. (\"Sourcefire\") portfolio into an integrated security architecture Our collaboration products, where we have recently introduced an entirely new portfolio of products designed to deliver a much richer experience at much lower price points Our wireless products, where we are seeing strong growth of our cloud networking business, which we acquired from Meraki, Inc. Our software offerings, where we are focused on delivering our technology and solutions via new license models by which we seek to increase our recurring revenue 2 Market Transitions We continue to seek to capitalize on market transitions as sources of future revenue opportunities as part of the continued transformation of our business, and we believe market transitions in the IT industry are occurring with greater frequency. Market transitions relating to the network are becoming, in our view, more significant as intelligent networks have moved from being a cost center issuewhere the focus is on reducing network operating costs and increasing network-related productivityto becoming a platform for revenue generation, business agility, and competitive advantage. We believe that that the next wave of dramatic Internet growth will come through the confluence of people, process, data, and things, which we refer to as the IoE. We believe that IoE, by bringing \"everything\" online, will create significant opportunities for businesses, governments and other organizations to obtain greater value from networked connections. IoE is being driven by several factors. Along with the anticipated proliferation in the number of network-connected things, we believe customers are seeing that significant technology trends and advances make it possible to realize more value from connectedness. IoE also reflects the ability to create intelligenceand capture intelligence fasterfrom these connections, which is why we believe that IoE has the potential to be a pivotal market transition that can offer significant economic and societal benefits on a global basis. Helping our customers take advantage of IoE, in our view, requires enabling them to address several of the other major technology transitions driving the IoE, such as virtualization, application centricity, cloud, and mobility. We believe our customers need a new model for IT that addresses the requirements that these transitions place on IT. We call this model that unifies infrastructure, platform, and applications \"Fast IT.\" By delivering architectures and solutions based on Fast IT, we aim to help our customers reduce complexity, accelerate service deployment, and increase security in a world that is increasingly virtualized, application centric, cloud-based, and mobile. Virtualization/Application Centricity We are also focusing on a market transition involving the move toward more programmable, flexible, and virtual networks, sometimes called software defined networking, or SDN. This transition is focused on moving from a hardware-centric approach for networking to a virtualized network environment that is designed to enable flexible, application-driven customization of network infrastructures. We believe the successful products and solutions in this market will combine application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) with hardware and software elements together to meet customers' total cost of ownership, quality, security, scalability, and experience requirements. In our view, there is no single architecture that supports all customer requirements in this area. We believe the promise of SDN is to enable more open and programmable network infrastructure. We are addressing this opportunity with a unique strategy and set of solutions that is designed to address the application demands transition and offers a holistic approach to the future of networking that responds automatically to the needs of applications. We introduced and began shipping our Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI), which delivers centralized application-driven policy automation, management, and visibility of both physical and virtual environments as a single system. ACI is comprised of our Nexus 9000 portfolio of switches, enhanced versions of our NX-OS operating system, and the Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC), which provides a central place to configure, automate, and manage an entire network, based on the needs of applications. Cloud Our Intercloud strategy seeks to leverage our application centric infrastructure together with our partners to deliver, we believe, the first global open network of highly secure hybrid cloud environments. We believe that customers and partners view our approach to the cloud as differentiated and unique, recognizing that we offer a solution to federated, private, hybrid, and public clouds that enables them to move their cloud workloads across heterogeneous private and public clouds with the necessary policy, security, and management features. With our InterCloud solution, we aim to build upon the leadership we have established in the private cloud market and as a cloud infrastructure provider. For a discussion of the risks associated with our strategy, see \"Item 1A. Risk Factors,\" including the risk factor entitled \"We depend upon the development of new products and enhancements to existing products, and if we fail to predict and respond to emerging technological trends and customers' changing needs, our operating results and market share may suffer.\" For information regarding sales of our major products and services, see Note 17 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. 3 Products and Services Our current offerings fall into several categories: Switching Switching is an integral networking technology used in campuses, branch offices, and data centers. Switches are used within buildings in local-area networks (LANs) and across great distances in wide-area networks (WANs). Our switching products offer many forms of connectivity to end users, workstations, IP phones, wireless access points, and servers and also function as aggregators on LANs and WANs. Our switching systems employ several widely used technologies, including Ethernet, Power over Ethernet, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), Packet over Synchronous Optical Network, and Multiprotocol Label Switching. Many of our switches are designed to support an integrated set of advanced services, allowing organizations to be more efficient by using one switch for multiple networking functions rather than multiple switches to accomplish the same functions. Key product platforms within our Switching product category, in which we also include storage products, are as follows: Fixed-Configuration Switches Modular Switches Cisco Catalyst Series: Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Cisco Catalyst 4500-X Series Cisco Catalyst Series: Cisco Catalyst 4500-E Series Cisco Catalyst 6500-E Series Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series Cisco Nexus Series: Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Cisco Nexus 6000 Series Storage Cisco MDS Series: Cisco MDS 9000 Cisco Nexus Series: Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Fixed-configuration switches are designed to cover a range of deployments in both large enterprises as well as in small and medium-sized businesses, providing a foundation for converged data, voice, and video services. Our fixed configuration switches range from small, standalone switches to stackable models that function as a single, scalable switching unit. Modular switches are typically used by enterprise and service provider customers with large-scale network needs. These products are designed to offer customers the flexibility and scalability to deploy numerous, as well as advanced, networking services without degrading overall network performance. Fixed-configuration and modular switches also include products such as optics modules, which are shared across multiple product platforms. Our switching portfolio also includes virtual switches and related offerings. These products provide switching functionality for virtual machines and are designed to operate in a complementary fashion with virtual services to optimize security and application behavior. During fiscal 2014, we continued to see increased market acceptance of switches we introduced in the previous fiscal year, including our Cisco Catalyst 2960-X, Cisco Catalyst 3850 and Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series switches. We announced our application-centric-infrastructure solution, Cisco ACI, in fiscal 2014. Cisco ACI consists of the new Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches, a Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) and accompanying centralized policy management capability, a Cisco Application Virtual Switch (AVS), integrated physical and virtual infrastructure, and an open ecosystem of network, storage, management, and orchestration vendors. Key characteristics of Cisco ACI include simplified automation by an application-driven policy model, centralized visibility and vigilance with real-time application monitoring, open software flexibility for development and operations teams and ecosystem partner integration capability, and scalable performance in hardware. Individually, our switching suite of products is designed to offer the performance and features required for nearly any deployment, from traditional small workgroups, wiring closets, and network cores to highly virtualized and converged corporate data centers. Working together with our wireless access solutions, these switches are, in our view, the building blocks of an integrated network that delivers scalable and advanced functionality solutionsprotecting, optimizing, and growing as a customer's business needs evolve. 4 NGN Routing NGN technology is fundamental to the foundation of the Internet. This category of technologies interconnects public and private wireline and mobile networks for mobile, data, voice, and video applications. Our NGN Routing portfolio of hardware and software solutions consists primarily of physical and virtual routers and routing systems. Our solutions are designed to meet the scale, reliability, and security needs of our customers. In our view, our portfolio is differentiated from those of our competitors through the advanced capabilities, which we sometimes refer to as \"intelligence,\" that our products provide at each layer of network infrastructure to deliver performance in the transmission of information and media-rich applications. As to specific products, we offer a broad range of hardware and software solutions, from core network infrastructure and mobile network routing solutions for service providers and enterprises to access routers for branch offices and for telecommuters and consumers at home. Key product areas within our NGN Routing category are as follows: High-End Routers Cisco Aggregation Services Routers (ASRs): Cisco ASR 901, 902, and 903 Series Cisco ASR 1000 Series Cisco ASR 5000 and 5500 Series Cisco ASR 9000 Series Cisco Carrier Routing Systems (CRS): Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Router Cisco CRS-3 Multishelf System Cisco CRS-X Cisco 7600 Series Midrange and Low-End Routers Cisco Integrated Services Routers (ISRs): Cisco 800 Series ISR Cisco 1900 Series ISR Cisco 2900 Series ISR Cisco 3900 Series ISR Cisco ISR-AX Other NGN Routing Optical networking products: Cisco Cloud Services Router 1000V Other routing products Cisco Network Convergence System (NCS): Cisco NCS 2000 Series Cisco NCS 4000 Series Cisco NCS 6000 Series Cisco Quantum Software Suite Small cell access routers During fiscal 2014, we continued to add new capabilities, including a new platform in our high-end routers known as the Cisco Network Convergence System (NCS). In fiscal 2014, we also made several enhancements to our Cisco ASR series of products. We also continue to provide enhancements to our NGN Routing portfolio through our architectural approach, which consists of a programmable network at the foundation and a services platform that connects the network to applications and services. Our solutions seek to combine silicon, systems, and software to enable the next-generation IoE and compelling new experiences for consumers, new revenue opportunities for service providers, and new ways to collaborate in the workplace. 5 Service Provider Video Our end-to-end, digital video distribution systems and digital interactive set-top boxes enable service providers and content originators to deliver entertainment, information, and communication services to consumers and businesses around the world. Key product areas within our Service Provider Video category are as follows: Service Provider Video Infrastructure Video Software and Solutions Set-top boxes: IP set-top boxes Digital cable set-top boxes Digital transport adapters Content security systems Digital content management products Digital headend products Digital media network products Integration and customization offerings Service provider video software solutions (Videoscape) Cable/Telecommunications Access: Cable modem termination systems (CMTS) Hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) access network products Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) products Cable modems: Data modems Embedded media terminal adapters Wireless gateways During fiscal 2014, we continued to leverage technologies obtained through our fiscal 2013 acquisition of NDS Group Limited (\"NDS\"), a provider of video software and content security solutions. We have included all of our revenue from NDS within the Service Provider Video product category. Specifically, we have integrated NDS products with Cisco Videoscape, our comprehensive content delivery platform designed to enable service providers and media companies to deliver next-generation entertainment experiences. Collaboration Our Collaboration portfolio integrates voice, video, data, and mobile applications on fixed and mobile networks across a wide range of devices and related IT equipmentsometimes collectively referred to as \"endpoints\"that people use to access networks, such as mobile phones, tablets, desktop and laptop computers, and desktop virtualization clients. Key product areas within our Collaboration category are as follows: Unified Communications IP phones Call center and messaging products Call control Software-based, IM clients Communication gateways and unified communication applications and subscriptions Web-Based Collaboration Offerings Cisco WebEx meeting server Cisco WebEx meeting center Cisco TelePresence Systems Collaboration desk endpoints Collaboration room endpoints Immersive systems Cisco TelePresence server and video conferencing infrastructure Cisco TelePresence integration solutions We include all of our revenue from WebEx within the Collaboration product category. During fiscal 2014, our collaboration offerings expanded within the Cisco TelePresence Systems collaboration desk endpoints category, including the Cisco Desktop Collaboration DX70 and DX80 offerings which offer high-definition voice and video communications, integrated collaboration, ten-point touchscreen, end-user personalization, and cloud readiness. We also added room-based endpoints with our Cisco TelePresence MX700 and MX800 offerings, which are designed to provide an all-in-one solution for medium to large meeting rooms. Also, within our Cisco TelePresence systems product category, for our enterprise customers we added Cisco Business Edition 7000, a stackable, modular server solution designed to consolidate multiple collaboration applications onto a single integrated platform. 6 Data Center Our Data Center product category has been our fastest growing major product category for each of the past four fiscal years. The Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) unites computing, networking, storage, management, and virtualization into a single fabric-based platform designed to simplify operations and provide business agility through rapid deployment and scaling of application infrastructure. UCS is specifically designed for virtualization and automation and enables on-demand provisioning from shared pools of infrastructure across physical and virtual environments. Key product areas within our Data Center product category are as follows: Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS): Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnects Cisco UCS Manager and Cisco UCS Central Software Cisco UCS Director Cisco UCS Invicta Series Server Access Virtualization: Cisco Nexus 1000V Cisco Nexus 1000V InterCloud During fiscal 2014 we expanded the network management capabilities of our Cisco UCS Central Software offerings, further enhancing Cisco UCS management capabilities to encompass thousands of servers across one or many data centers. Additionally, we continued to invest in data center infrastructure management and automation software within our Cisco UCS Director product offering. We also introduced new UCS blade and rack servers which address large-scale databases, data analytics, and business intelligence, and we also introduced the Cisco UCS Invicta Series, which aims to simplify the data center through the use of flash technology to maximize operational efficiency by improving handling of data-intensive application workloads. During fiscal 2014, Cisco UCS added flash memory to its portfolio of products as a result of our acquisition of WhipTail Technologies, Inc. (\"WhipTail\"), a provider of high-performance, scalable solid-state memory systems, which occurred in the second quarter of fiscal 2014. Our fiscal 2014 Data Center product innovations were designed to accelerate execution on our strategy, which is to enable customers to consolidate both physical and virtualized workloadstaking into account customer's unique application requirementsonto a single scalable, centrally managed, and automated system. This strategy has resulted in a portfolio of solutions designed to preserve customer choice, accelerate business initiatives, reduce risk, lower the cost of IT, and represent a comprehensive solution when deployed. Wireless Wireless access via wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) is a fast-growing technology with organizations across the globe investing to provide indoor and outdoor coverage with seamless roaming for voice, video, and data applications. We aim to deliver an optimized user experience over Wi-Fi and leverage the intelligence of the network to solve business problems. Our wireless solutions include wireless access points; standalone, switch-converged, and cloud-managed solutions; and network managed services. Our wireless solutions portfolio is enhanced with security and location-based services via our Mobility Services Engine (MSE) solution. Our offerings provide users with simplified management and mobile device troubleshooting features designed to reduce operational cost and maximize flexibility and reliability. We are also investing in customized chipset development toward the goal of delivering innovative radio frequency (RF) product functionality; our CleanAir proactive spectrum intelligence, our ClientLink solution for mobile devices, and our VideoStream video optimization technology are illustrations of recent investment activity in this area. Key product areas within our Wireless category are as follows: Cisco Aironet Series Access point modules for 3600 Series (802.11ac, 3G, WSSI, LTE/4G) and 3700 Series Controllers (standalone and integrated) Meraki wireless cloud solutions 7 In fiscal 2014, the Connected Mobile Experience (CMX), a Wi-Fi location data analytics platform we introduced in fiscal 2013, continued to experience positive momentum as customers seek new monetization opportunities. Our fiscal 2013 acquisitions of Meraki, Inc. (\"Meraki\"), a cloud-managed networking company, and ThinkSmart Technologies Limited, a specialist in Wi-Fi data location analytics, in our view bolster our Unified Access platform by providing scalable, easy-todeploy, on-premise networking solutions that can be centrally managed from the cloud. Security With the IoE creating what we believe to be a potentially significant opportunity, security is a significant business concern, and we believe it is a top investment priority of our customers. More people, processes, and devices than ever before are connected to the Internet, causing an escalation of security threats which can result inwhere such security threats become actual security breachesloss of revenue, intellectual property, and reputation. Our security portfolio of products and services is designed to offer a comprehensive solution that collects and shares intelligence with a coordinated focus on threats across the entire attack continuumbefore, during, and after an attack. These solutions include network security, web and email security, cloud web security, advanced malware protection, data center security, and network admission control and identity services. Our security solutions and services are designed to protect customers from the network to the cloud to the endpoint, through a network-integrated architecture. During the first quarter of fiscal 2014, we completed our acquisition of Sourcefire, a provider of intelligent cybersecurity solutions. Sourcefire delivers innovative, highly automated security through continuous awareness, threat detection, and protection across its portfolio, including next-generation intrusion prevention systems, next-generation firewalls, and advanced malware protection. In fiscal 2014 we announced new solutions in advanced malware protection and network security that included integration of our Sourcefire products with products obtained from our fiscal 2013 acquisition of Cognitive Security. We also introduced OpenAppID, an open source application detection solution designed to allow customers to create, share, and implement custom application detection so they can address new application-based threats as quickly as possible. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, we acquired ThreatGRID, Inc., a leader in dynamic malware analysis and threat intelligence technology. ThreatGRID's private and public cloud technology combines dynamic malware analysis with analytics and actionable indicators with the goal of enabling security teams to proactively defend against and quickly respond to advanced cyber attacks and malware outbreaks. With the ThreatGRID acquisition, we aim to strengthen our advanced threat protection security offering. Other Products Our Other Products category primarily consists of certain emerging technologies and other networking products. Service In addition to our product offerings, we provide a broad range of service offerings, including technical support services and advanced services. Technical support services help our customers ensure their products operate efficiently, remain available, and benefit from the most up-to-date system and application software that we have developed. These services help customers protect their network investments, manage risk, and minimize downtime for systems running mission-critical applications. A key example of this is our Cisco Smart Services offering, which leverages the intelligence from Cisco's millions of devices and customer connections to protect and optimize network investment for our customers and partners. Advanced services are part of a comprehensive program that is focused on providing responsive, preventive, and consultative support of our technologies for specific networking needs. The advanced services program supports networking devices, applications, solutions, and complete infrastructures. Our service and support strategy is focused on capitalizing on increased globalization, and we believe this strategy, along with our architectural approach, has the potential to further differentiate us from competitors. 8 Customers and Markets Many factors influence the IT, collaboration, and networking requirements of our customers. These include the size of the organization, number and types of technology systems, geographic location, and business applications deployed throughout the customer's network. Our customer base is not limited to any specific industry, geography, or market segment. In each of the past three fiscal years, no single customer has accounted for 10% or more of our revenue. Our customers primarily operate in the following markets: enterprise, service provider, commercial, and public sector. Enterprise Enterprise businesses are large regional, national, or global organizations with multiple locations or branch offices and typically employ 1,000 or more employees. Many enterprise businesses have unique IT, collaboration, and networking needs within a multivendor environment. We strive to take advantage of the network-as-a-platform strategy to integrate business processes with technology architectures to assist customer growth. We offer service and support packages, financing, and managed network services, primarily through our service provider partners. We sell these products through a network of thirdparty application and technology vendors and channel partners, as well as selling directly to these customers. Service Providers Service providers offer data, voice, video, and mobile/wireless services to businesses, governments, utilities, and consumers worldwide. They include regional, national, and international wireline carriers, as well as Internet, cable, and wireless providers. We also group media, broadcast, and content providers within our service provider market, as the lines in the telecommunications industry continue to blur between traditional network-based services and content-based and application-based services. Service providers use a variety of our routing and switching, optical, security, video, mobility, and network management products, systems, and services for their own networks. In addition, many service providers use Cisco data center, virtualization, and collaboration technologies to offer managed or Internet-based services to their business customers. Compared with other customers, service providers are more likely to require network design, deployment, and support services because of the scale and complexity of their networks, which requirements are addressed, we believe, by our architectural approach. Commercial Generally, we define commercial businesses as companies with fewer than 1,000 employees. The larger, or midmarket, customers within the commercial market are served by a combination of our direct salesforce and our channel partners. These customers typically require the latest advanced technologies that our enterprise customers demand, but with less complexity. Small businesses, or companies with fewer than 100 employees, require information technologies and communication products that are easy to configure, install, and maintain. These smaller companies within the commercial market are primarily served by our channel partners. Public Sector Public sector entities include federal governments, state and local governments, as well as educational institution customers. Many public sector entities have unique IT, collaboration, and networking needs within a multivendor environment. We sell to public sector entities through a network of third-party application and technology vendors and channel partners, as well as selling directly to these customers. Sales Overview As of the end of fiscal 2014, our worldwide sales and marketing departments consisted of 24,740 employees, including managers, sales representatives, and technical support personnel. We have field sales offices in 94 countries, and we sell our products and services both directly and through a variety of channels with support from our salesforce. A substantial portion of our products and services is sold through our channel partners, and the remainder is sold through direct sales. Our channel partners include systems integrators, service providers, other resellers, and distributors. Systems integrators and service providers typically sell directly to end users and often provide system installation, technical support, professional services, and other support services in addition to network equipment sales. Systems integrators also typically integrate our products into an overall solution. Some service providers are also systems integrators. Distributors hold inventory and typically sell to systems integrators, service providers, and other resellers. We refer to sales through distributors as our two-tier system of sales to the end customer. Revenue from distributors is recognized based on a sell-through method using information provided by them. These distributors are generally given business terms that allow them to return a portion of inventory, receive credits for changes in selling prices, and participate in various cooperative marketing programs. For information regarding risks related to our channels, see \"Item 1A. Risk Factors,\" including the risk factors entitled \"Disruption of or changes in our distribution model could harm our sales and margins\" and \"Our inventory management relating to our sales to our two-tier distribution channel is complex, and excess inventory may harm our gross margins.\" 9 For information regarding risks relating to our international operations, see \"Item 1A. Risk Factors,\" including the risk factors entitled \"Our operating results may be adversely affected by unfavorable economic and market conditions and the uncertain geopolitical environment\"; \"Entrance into new or developing markets exposes us to additional competition and will likely increase demands on our service and support operations\"; \"Due to the global nature of our operations, political or economic changes or other factors in a specific country or region could harm our operating results and financial condition\"; \"We are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates that could negatively impact our financial results and cash flows\"; and \"Man-made problems such as computer viruses or terrorism may disrupt our operations and harm our operating results,\" among others. Our service offerings complement our products through a range of consulting, technical, project, quality, and software maintenance services, including 24-hour online and telephone support through technical assistance centers. Financing Arrangements We provide financing arrangements for certain qualified customers to build, maintain, and upgrade their networks. We believe customer financing is a competitive factor in obtaining business, particularly in serving customers involved in significant infrastructure projects. Our financing arrangements include the following: Leases: Sales-type Direct financing Operating Loans Financed service contracts For additional information regarding these financing arrangements, see Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Product Backlog Our product backlog at July 26, 2014, the last day of fiscal 2014, was approximately $5.4 billion, compared with product backlog of approximately $4.9 billion at July 27, 2013, the last day of fiscal 2013. The product backlog includes orders confirmed for products scheduled to be shipped within 90 days to customers with approved credit status. Because of the generally short cycle between order and shipment and occasional customer changes in delivery schedules or cancellation of orders (which are made without significant penalty), we do not believe that our product backlog, as of any particular date, is necessarily indicative of actual product revenue for any future period. Acquisitions, Investments, and Alliances The markets in which we compete require a wide variety of technologies, products, and capabilities. Our growth strategy is based on the three components of innovation, which we sometimes refer to as our \"build, buy, and partner\" approach. The foregoing is a way of describing how we strive to innovate: we can internally develop, or build, our own innovative solutions; we can acquire, or buy, companies with innovative technologies; and we can partner with companies to jointly develop and/or resell product technologies and innovations. The combination of technological complexity and rapid change within our markets makes it difficult for a single company to develop all of the technological solutions that it desires to offer within its family of products and services. We work to broaden the range of products and services we deliver to customers in target markets through acquisitions, investments, and alliances. To summarize, we employ the following strategies to address the need for new or enhanced networking and communications products and services: Developing new technologies and products internally Acquiring all or parts of other companies Entering into joint development efforts with other companies Reselling other companies' products Acquisitions We have acquired many companies, and we expect to make future acquisitions. Mergers and acquisitions of high-technology companies are inherently risky, especially if the acquired company has yet to ship a product. No assurance can be given that our previous or future acquisitions will be successful or will not materially adversely affect our financial condition or operating results. Prior acquisitions have resulted in a wide range of outcomes, from successful introduction of new products and technologies to an inability to do so. The risks associated with acquisitions are more fully discussed in \"Item 1A. Risk Factors,\" including the risk 10 factor entitled \"We have made and expect to continue to make acquisitions that could disrupt our operations and harm our operating results.\" Investments in Privately Held Companies We make investments in privately held companies that develop technology or provide services that are complementary to our products or that provide strategic value. The risks associated with these investments are more fully discussed in \"Item 1A. Risk Factors,\" including the risk factor