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Cisco Portfolio Architecture

Creating unity across a sprawling portfolio

Brand Identity & Expression Foundational Strategy Naming

Too many names, too little clarity

Years of innovation and acquisitions left Cisco with a sprawling portfolio and inconsistent naming across business units. The signal of “Cisco” was diluted, confusing customers and slowing cross-sell.

Refocus on the primary brand

Elevate Cisco as the hero and make products instantly legible. Shift from suggestive, stand-alone names to clear, descriptive naming that ladders up to “one Cisco.” Transition legacy acquisitions to power a simpler, unified Cisco brand made for the AI-era.

Systematize naming across security, networking, observability

Working with Cisco, we defined a coherent brand architecture model that minimized sub-brands and provided a clear taxonomy for organizing and systematizing its offerings in a customer-center way. We created a shared, descriptive naming system spanning three core businesses—security, networking, and observability—so buyers recognize what it is, what it does, and that it’s Cisco. Where needed, we delivered targeted naming ideation for discrete products and platforms, all governed by practical guidelines and a reusable toolkit.

Clarity that accelerates adoption and alignment

A simplified, Cisco-first portfolio that makes navigation easier for customers and storytelling simpler for sales and marketing. The result: stronger brand cohesion, clearer buyer journeys, and a platform for cross-sell that feels unmistakably Cisco.