Cisco Systems takes minority stake in Objective Systems Integrators; will team with OSI on enhanced network management applications for service providers.SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 1995--Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced that it has made a 4.4 percent equity investment in Objective Systems Integrators, Inc. (OSI (1) (Open System Interconnection) An ISO standard for worldwide communications that defines a framework for implementing protocols in seven layers. Control is passed from one layer to the next, starting at the application layer in one station, proceeding to the ) of Folsom, Calif., the leading independent developer of network management software for service providers. The announcement coincides with OSI's initial public offering Thursday of four million shares of common stock. As a result of the public offering, OSI has 29.7 million shares outstanding. Cisco Systems is acquiring 1.3 million shares of OSI common stock (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :OSII) at the initial public offering price of $19 per share. According to Jon Shantz, vice president of service provider market at Cisco Systems, the two companies plan to co-develop network management applications for Cisco internetworking technology, which will enable service providers to quickly deploy new, enhanced internetworking services over their networks. "By working with OSI," Shantz said, "we'll increase the availability of key internetworking technology to carriers, cable companies and other service providers and the availability of enhanced internetworking services to users worldwide." The two companies plan to develop enhancements to OSI's NetExpert family of graphical user interface graphical user interface (GUI) Computer display format that allows the user to select commands, call up files, start programs, and do other routine tasks by using a mouse to point to pictorial symbols (icons) or lists of menu choices on the screen as opposed to having to (GUI (Graphical User Interface) A graphics-based user interface that incorporates movable windows, icons and a mouse. The ability to resize application windows and change style and size of fonts are the significant advantages of a GUI vs. a character-based interface. )-based development tools and management applications, which allow network analysts and engineers -- rather than software programmers -- to create new network operations support and management applications or modify existing applications to support new services quickly and easily. NetExpert is designed to manage heterogeneous network devices, such as computers, transmission equipment and switches, regardless of the transmission technology, management protocols and mediums used in the network. Customers use NetExpert for such diverse management functions as fault management, provisioning, billing data collection, work crew dispatch, network traffic reporting and performance analysis. Leading telecommunications companies, including AT&T Wireless, Bell South, British Telecom, MCI (1) (Media Control Interface) A high-level programming interface from Microsoft and IBM for controlling multimedia devices. It provides commands and functions to open, play and close the device. (2) (Microwave Communications Inc. , NTT NTT Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation NTT New Technology Telescope NTT National Technology Transfer, Inc NTT Name That Tune (TV game show) NTT National Tree Trust NTT Number Theoretic Transform , Pacific Bell, Southwestern Bell, Sprint and US West, and service providers such as First Union Bank and Time Warner Cable This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. currently license NetExpert products. Objective Systems Integrators develops, markets and supports object-oriented, client/server software solutions for network operations support and management. The company's NetExpert family of products includes a software framework, off-the-shelf network operations support and management applications, programmerless development tools and related professional services. These products and services are optimized for complex, mission-critical networks, and they enable the rapid deployment of new and enhanced services over these networks. Headquartered in Folsom, Calif., OSI has about 200 employees. More information on the company is available at World Wide Web site http://www.osi.com. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO CSCO Cisco Systems Incorporated (stock symbol) CSCO Chief Supply Chain Officer ) is the leading global supplier of internetworking solutions, including routers, LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. and ATM switches, dial-up access servers and network management software. These products, integrated by the Cisco IOS software, link geographically dispersed LANs, WANs and IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) networks. Cisco news and product/service information are available at World Wide Web site http://www.cisco.com. Cisco is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. -0- Note to Editors: Cisco IOS is a trademark and Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. All other trademarks, registered or otherwise, are the property of their respective holders. CONTACT: Cisco Systems Inc., San Jose Steve Bauer, 408/526-4433 or Cunningham Communication, Inc. Rona Brodrick or Christine Yum, 408/982-0400 |
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