Network management Toolkit

Cisco partners with Haier on home networking

Marguerite Reardon CNET News.com

Published: 26 Sep 2007 13:26 BST

Cisco will partner with one of China's largest appliance makers to develop networking gear for homes, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

Cisco and the Haier Group said in a joint statement that they will share best practices in management, strategic investment and construction in an effort to build home networking systems. Specific details of how the companies will do this weren't provided.

The Haier Group has been expanding into international markets for the past couple of years. Its chief executive, Zhang Ruimin, said the company will look to Cisco to help it expand its brand overseas.

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"We believe it is necessary to take advantage of Cisco's business practices as a model for efficient international expansion, particularly in areas like customer service that rely heavily on networked information technology," Ruimin said in the statement.

Haier's products include refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, televisions, water heaters, personal computers, mobile phones and kitchen appliances.

For Cisco, a relationship with the Haier Group provides ties to a huge manufacturer in one of the world's largest consumer markets. China has the second-largest internet audience in the world, second only to the US.