Marketing rejig at Cisco targets customer groups

Cisco Systems has reorganised its business model to target specific customer groups instead of focusing on products, copying rival 3Com, which recently made a similar move.

Two weeks ago, 3Com reorganised into three global business units ready to complete the merger with US Robotics. 3Com is adopting a customer-focused instead of product-focused approach so that each unit will target specific customers (PC Dealer, 23 April).

Richard Bradley, UK channel manager at Cisco, denied that the restructure was done in response to 3Com?s move and said the changes had been afoot for nearly three months. ?We?ve always been customer driven. But this is about providing technology solutions that are more meaningful to customers,? he said.

The vendor aims to sell complete tailor-made networks to three separate lines of business: the service provider division will sell to telecoms carriers and ISPs; the enterprise division will concentrate on corporates; and the small/medium business division will target SMEs. All three sectors will consist of product units, network management units and marketing units.

Cisco previously used seven technology-led business units. ?We?re taking the expertise from each of those groups and putting together more meaningful business units to further accelerate our gain of market share,? said Bradley.