In the mid 2000s, Cisco likened the network to “The Force.” In Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope, the wise Obi Wan defined the force as “an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.”
In Cisco’s 2003 Financial Report, it said this about the network: “Networks are all around us. They are in our walls, in the air. At schools, hotels, hospitals, even coffee shops. Always there, always on.” In other words, the network surround us, penetrates us and binds the galaxy together.
Cisco was articulating that the power of the network exists now, and people that tap into this power will revolutionize their organizations, cities or countries.
By the mid 2000s, Cisco’s product line had expanded into almost anything that touched the network. Primarily through acquisitions, Cisco added security, content switching, wireless LAN and VPNs. Cisco had officially become the 800-pound network gorilla.