CISCO SYSTEMS: HUNGER FOR NEW TECHNOLOGY FED THROUGH ACQUISITIONS.

With its 17th acquisition of the year, Cisco Systems has solidified its position in the high-speed voice, data and video services market. Reuters reports that Cisco Systems has agreed to acquire privately-held PixStream Inc., a Canadian maker of network video hardware and software, for $369 million in company stock.

With the purchase to be completed later this fall, Cisco Systems now must turn its attention to absorbing PixStream's operations while retaining the company's most attractive features.

"Merger & Acquisition Integration Excellence," a report from Best Practices, LLC, shares the critical factors for successful merger and acquisition planning as identified by top integrators themselves. Previously cited on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in association with Cisco's M&A policies, the report reveals the best M&A integration practices and lessons learned from 50 top-level executives at world-class companies - drawing information from more than 1000 mergers.

"There's a lot of information out there about M&A integration, but very few sources contain specific practices from top integrators," says Keith Symmers, Vice President at Best Practices, LLC. "Our study delivers quantitative and qualitative insights that senior executives, heads of M&A, integration leaders and team members can implement to help their companies hit the ground running immediately after integration."

Best Practices, LLC provides clients with access and intelligence for achieving world-class excellence. Our work is based on the simple yet profound principle that organizations can attain superior economic performance by studying and implementing the best business practices, operating tactics, and winning strategies of top companies.