Cisco Systems Co

Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. said Thursday that it would buy e-mail and Web security firm IronPort Systems Inc. for $830 million to tap growing demand for antivirus and anti-spam software. The acquisition of the privately held software and equipment vendor is Cisco's latest move to grow by integrating niche technologies that complement its main product line of routers and switches, which direct Internet traffic.

Cisco to Apple: We need to talk. A day after Apple Inc. baptized its eagerly anticipated super-cellphone with the marketing slogan "We need to talk," Cisco Systems Inc. filed a trademark lawsuit Wednesday pointing out that it has owned the iPhone name since 2000. Until Monday night, the two companies were negotiating over the name. Cisco, which acquired the name when it bought another company, was willing to "share," Cisco spokeswoman Terry Anderson said. Apple, apparently, was not.

Wim Elfrink's climb up the corporate ladder has taken him from Holland to France, Italy, Switzerland and the United States. But his latest promotion will take the Dutch polyglot far from his Western comfort zone. As the chief globalization officer at Cisco Systems Inc., Elfrink is taking his wife, two daughters and the family dog from suburban Silicon Valley to Bangalore, India. "My mother-in-law said to my wife, 'What did you do to deserve this?'

The computer and telecom networking equipment made by Cisco Systems Inc. moves untold amounts of data, images and video around the world every minute. A bigger challenge for the company may be moving its stock above $30 even for a day. Cisco's shares haven't closed above that level since 2001. They got near it Jan. 12, when they finished the session at a three-year high of $28.92, after rallying 68% since early August.

Apple Inc. was given more time to respond to a lawsuit by Cisco Systems Inc. as the companies work toward an agreement on the use of the iPhone brand. The extension, which comes three weeks after San Jose-based Cisco sued Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple for using the iPhone name, may allow the companies to agree on rights to the brand and ways their products can work together, they said in a joint statement.

Cisco Systems Inc.'s fiscal second-quarter profit surged nearly 40% as the world's largest maker of networking gear benefited from equipment upgrades to support bandwidth-hogging video downloads. The company on Tuesday also raised its revenue guidance for the current quarter, apparently quashing analyst concerns about slowing growth as its customers complete the most extensive round of network upgrades since the pre-Y2K scramble. Cisco shares closed down 23 cents at $27.

Cisco Systems Inc. said Senior Vice President Mike Volpi was leaving the company after 13 years. Volpi, 40, who led Cisco's router and service-provider groups, said he planned to take a few months off before assuming another job. Volpi had been considered a potential successor for Chief Executive John Chambers.

Global sales of routers to Internet service providers rose 28% to a record $5.63 billion in 2006, led by Cisco Systems Inc., as people sought to download more videos and music from the Web, research firm Dell'Oro Group said. Cisco, based in San Jose, posted a 27% jump in router sales to $3.19 billion, according to data compiled by the firm. Sales by No. 2 Juniper Networks Inc. rose 1% to $1.27 billion.

Cisco Systems Inc. and Apple Inc. agreed to share the iPhone brand, settling Cisco's lawsuit for trademark infringement. The agreement allows both companies to use the iPhone name and calls for their products to work together in the future, the companies said Wednesday in a joint statement. The settlement ends a six-week dispute between the Silicon Valley giants and puts Cupertino, Calif.

Cisco Systems Inc. said Monday that it had acquired software and workers from social networking technology company Utah Street Networks Inc., its second investment in the growing business of user-generated content. Privately held Utah Street Networks operates Tribe.net and specializes in software to create and maintain online communities. It has seven employees based in San Francisco. The software will be integrated into Cisco Media Solutions Group, San Jose-based Cisco said.