"Hong Kong was always part of North Asia [operations]," he explained, "while Japan always a different part of our operations." The main reason for the change, said Rubio, is the strengthening of links between Hong Kong and the mainland. "The south of China is becoming a technology corridor, and many of our partners now cover both HK and China," he added. "We anticipate growth, and our partners see the same business logic."

The A-Pac VP said that mainland businesses "see Cisco as both a tech provider and [an operation with] a well run business perspective, and they want to evolve." He added that one of Cisco's strengths is covering market verticals, while another is service providers. "It's like: 1+1=3," said Rubio. "Get that business model spinning." He added that deregulation in financials and telcos were a factor affecting these markets.

According to Rubio, Cisco has R&D operations in Shanghai's Pudong district as well as Beijing, and plans to ramp up R&D "quite significantly."

"How do customers view networking: as a cost, or as an investment?" Rubio said that, globally, CEOs now see an enterprise network as an investment rather than a cost, but parts of Asia have yet to be impacted by this global trend, so they still see it as a cost. "In some places," he said, "the CIO still reports to CFO...we must change this mindset."