Cisco announces major reorganisation to trim management fat

Cisco has unveiled plans for a major internal reorganisation, designed to cut bureaucracy and streamline decision-making processes.

Chief executive John Chambers warned staff and analysts last month that major changes were coming, and shut down Cisco's Flip consumer video camera division as a first step in refocusing on core markets.

Under the new corporate structure, Cisco will focus on five key areas: core routing, switching and services; collaboration; datacentre virtualisation and cloud; video; and architectures for business transformation.

The company is abolishing six of the nine in-house executive councils introduced by Chambers to seek out and develop new business opportunities, although some Cisco staff complained that they added another layer of bureaucracy.

The remaining councils will cover enterprise, service provider and emerging countries.

Cisco will also simplify its field operations around three geographic areas - Americas, EMEA and Asia - each with their own support teams for large enterprise, public sector, commercial and small businesses, service provider and Cisco partner markets.

"Cisco has driven transformational change before, and we are again transitioning to the next stage of the company's evolution," said Chambers.

"Today, the market is driving toward simplification and it's why the network matters. Our role as the leading network platform provider is strong, we have great customers, talent and expertise, and we know how to bring innovation to every aspect of the network.

"It's time to simplify the way we execute our strategy, and today's announcement is a key step forward."

The changes will take place over the next six months and Cisco is expected to provide more details at an earnings call next week.