How Cisco Systems Used Enterprise Architecture Capability to Sustain Acquisition-Based Growth

Value-creating acquisitions are a major challenge for many firms. The case of Cisco Systems shows that an advanced enterprise architecture (EA) capability can contribute to the four phases of the acquisition process: pre-acquisition preparation, acquisition selection, acquisition integration and post-integration management. Cisco’s EA capability improves its ability to rapidly capture value from acquisitions and to sustain its acquisition-based growth strategy over time.