ions, educational institutions, government agencies, and telecom service providers who deploy large and complex networks. However, with its acquisition of Linksys in March 2003, the company is now poised to enter the small business and home networking markets as well. Cisco has also been one of the pioneers of Internet protocol (IP) telephony technology. Traditional voice networks transmit analog voice signals over a dedicated, circuit-switched connection. With IP telephony, the voice signal is digitized and transmitted as data packets using the same method (IP) that computers use to communicate with each other. The company's vision is to eliminate the need for separate voice, data, and video infrastructures and replace them with a single multi-purpose network using IP technology. Industry analysts predict that by 2010 the majority of large corporate networks will be employing IP telephony technology. Cisco vs. Stanford The history of Cisco Systems is a legendary piece of Silicon Valley lore, infused with drama, conflict, and a bit of myth. In the early 1980s, Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner were part of a team of computer engineers at Stanford University looking for a way to connect the separate and incompatible computer networks scattered around VAULT CAREER LIBRARY 2005 Vault Inc. Vault Guide to the Top Telecom Employers Cisco Systems, Inc. campus. The result of their research was an early prototype of the multi-protocol router. In 1984, Bosack and Lerner founded Cisco Systems out of their home to commercialize the technology. The fledgling company had no investors, and SO Bosack and Lerner used their credit cards for financing. They continued to work at Stanford, refining their product largely with the university's time and resources, and drawing on the expertise and work of other Stanford computer scientists. As a result, Bosack and Lerner soon became embroiled in a contentious battle over ownership rights to the new technology. Finally, in 1987, Stanford relented and agreed to license the technology to Cisc