Linksys

Linksys is an American company, a manufacturer of network equipment. It was created in 1988. Located in Irvine, California, Linksys specializes in products and solutions that enable easy and inexpensive sharing of broadband Internet connections, files, printers, digital music, videos, photos, and games over a wired or wireless network.

History

2021: $75 million investment from Fortinet

Linksys, a representative in the production of wireless network products, and Fortinet, a company in the field of global integrated and automated solutions for cybersecurity, on March 30, 2021 announced a strategic alliance to further ensure security and optimize performance and manage home networks as part of the situation of remote work.

As organizations embark on a massive deployment of remote workstations, cybercriminals try to exploit multiple emerging security gaps. A security-based network - a strategy that combines network and security in a connected environment, from the core to the cloud, to branch offices and remote employees - enables organizations to monitor and protect highly dynamic environments while maintaining excellent user experience. We are excited to work with Linksys to ensure secure and reliable corporate-level network connectivity for remote employees, said Ken Xie, Founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the company.

{{quote 'We are pleased to welcome Fortinet as a strategic partner in providing secure connectivity for consumers and remote professionals. The collaboration is a testament to Linksys "continued strength and reach. We look forward to leveraging Fortinet's proven cybersecurity expertise to take advantage of new opportunities "- Sidney Lou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FIT Hon Teng. }}

Together, Fortinet, Linksys, and FIT will offer enterprise-level connectivity and security, as well as unrivaled quality of service to organizations that need a seamless and secure connection for their employees to work efficiently from home.

As part of the alliance, Fortinet made a strategic investment of $75 million US dollars in Linksys, which provides the latest generation of leading routing solutions to consumers and businesses around the world. In addition, Fortinet will appoint a representative to the Linksys board of directors.

2013: Cisco sells Linksys to Belkin

Linksys, which Cisco sells as part of its non-core asset recovery strategy, moved to Belkin in March 2013 .

According to CEO Belkin, Chet Pipkin's agreement will help his company achieve its ambitious goals. "Our companies unite basic values ​ ​ - we have a common desire to meet the real needs of our customers through strong places of entrepreneurial culture," Pipkin said. "Belkin's strategic goal is to become a world leader in the connected space of home and wireless networks, and this acquisition is an important step towards realizing this goal."

Belkin intends to maintain the Linksys brand and will support all its products. Current warranties will also be respected by Belkin for both existing and future Linksys products. After the end of the agreement, Belkin will account for about 30 percent of the American network communication market.

2012: Cisco Prepares to Sell Linksys

Rumors about the intention to sell Linksys began to appear since May 2011 after Cisco curtailed its Flip video camera development business, acquired with the purchase of Pure Digital. During the global restructuring that took the last year and a half, Cisco abandoned many consumer lines of business: in addition to Flip, the development of personal Umi television presence systems was also discontinued. The company still remains a strong player in the TV decoder and integrated video services markets thanks to Scientific Atlanta and the recently purchased NDS.^[1]

Cisco bought Linksys in March 2003, paying about $500 million. Linksys then had a rapidly growing business and met Cisco's ambitions in the consumer market. (No more than in 2009, the company wanted to increase this segment by $10 billion.) However, for 2012 f.g. Cisco's income in the "Other Products" category (which includes Linksys for better profit and loss balance) decreased by 16.3% compared to 2011 - from $1.32 billion to $1.03 billion.

There was also confusion with Linksys brands and Cisco itself in the SMB product segment: in 2010, Cisco returned to its previous policy, and the Linksys brand began to relate only to consumer-class products sold mainly through retailers. Earlier this year, Cisco was forced to apologize - twice - for security problems after updating the contents of the ROM of some Linksys Wi-Fi routers.

Meanwhile, Cisco is once again rolling out its shopping flywheel after weakening somewhat during restructuring. In 2012, it bought 10 companies, including network planner and designer Cariden Technologies (the deal was closed on Monday).

2008: Translating all Linksys SMB products to Cisco brand

In 2008, Cisco Systems decided to transfer all Linksys products related to small and medium-sized businesses to the Cisco brand. After the transition, this product line became known as Cisco Small Business.

The Linksys brand is used for home network products from Cisco Systems.

2003: Acquisition by Cisco Systems

In 2003, Linksys was purchased by Cisco Systems.

Notes