????思科在互聯網安全、無線技術和數據中心等領域的擴張正是其轉型戰略的一部分，該公司希望從通信設備擴展至更廣大的IT硬件及服務領域。至于思科上月以12億美元收購Meraki，則是錢伯斯轉型愿景的另一重要舉措。Meraki的云網絡平臺將大大增強思科在WiFi及移動管理領域的實力。而且，Meraki的絕大部分客戶都是中等規模的企業和機構，例如諾德斯特姆百貨（Nordstrom）、蘋果蜂（Applebee's）、星巴克（Starbucks）、地方政府及斯坦福（Stanford）、麻省理工（MIT）等大學，它們將填補思科在這方面的客戶空白。

????思科企業網絡部高級副總裁羅伯特·索德貝里在電話會議上向投資者表示：“我相信思科和Meraki將改變中端市場機構……構建和消費網絡技術的方式。所以這筆交易并不僅僅只是產品技術或人才方面的收購，Meraki將成為思科進軍云網絡的新平臺。”

????公布Meraki交易之后，思科的股價上漲了5％。分析人士指出，這筆交易可以鞏固思科在WiFi市場的半壁江山：思科的無線客戶大都是大客戶，而Meraki可以為思科帶來規模較小的客戶。更重要的是，Meraki基于云端的平臺可在不增加IT人手的情況下進行IT維護。William Blair投資銀行分析師賈森·艾德上周在研究報告中寫道：“從思科的角度而言，Meraki基于云端的管理軟件是這筆交易中最具價值的資產，它在未來可將思科企業級方案中的多款產品‘云端化’。

????截至2012年10月，思科擁有450億美元現金儲備，足夠該公司進行更多類似Meraki這樣有針對性的收購。構建互聯網基石這項業務可能不如10年前有利可圖，但思科似乎已學會了如何謹慎地進入與其核心業務相關、同時又具有增長潛力的領域。

????譯者：項航

????Cisco's expansion into areas like Internet security, wireless technology and data centers are a part of this strategy from communications equipment to a broader portfolio of IT hardware and services. The announcement last week of Cisco's?$1.2 billion purchase of Meraki?is another big step toward the vision Chambers outlined.?Meraki's cloud-networking platform offers Cisco a stronger presence in WiFi and mobile management. Most of Meraki's customers -- including Nordstrom (JWN), Applebee's, Starbucks (SBUX), local governments and universities like Stanford and MIT –-- are mid-sized institutions, an area of the market Cisco has not focused on so far.

????Rob Soderbery, Cisco's senior vice president of enterprise networking said in a call to investors, "I believe that Cisco and Meraki will transform how midmarket organizations...build and consume network technology. So this is not just a product technology or talent acquisition, we're bringing Meraki in as the new platform within Cisco for cloud advantage networks."

????Cisco's stock is up 5% since announcing the Meraki deal. Analysts noted that the deal could strengthen Cisco's 50% share of the WiFi market: Most of Cisco's WiFi customers are larger customers, and Meraki could bring smaller customers into its fold. What's more, Meraki's cloud-based platform can handle IT maintenance without taking on more IT staff.?Jason Ader, an analyst at William Blair, said in a note last week that "Meraki's cloud based management software is the crown jewel of the deal from Cisco's perspective, and could be used to 'cloudify' multiple products within Cisco's enterprise portfolio in the future."

????Cisco ended October with a $45 billion cash stockpile, enough to allow it to make more targeted acquisitions like Meraki. The business of building the Internet's backbone may not be as lucrative as it was a decade ago, but Cisco seems to have learned to expand prudently into new areas of growth related to that core business.