Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) is ending 2004 in typical fashion -- by acquiring yet another security specialist. The company today announced a $65 million all-cash deal for Sunnyvale, Calif., startup Protego Networks.

Protego supplies security monitoring and threat management appliances to enterprises. The firm’s core offering is the PN-MARS family of appliances, which manage security across routers, switches, and firewalls as well as intrusion and detection devices.

With just 38 employees, the acquisition equals around $1.7 million per Protego staff member -- proof, if any were needed, that security is still big business.

Should we be surprised by the deal? Not really: Cisco has been flashing its cash throughout 2004, and it has been focusing particularly on security.

Get all the details at Next-Gen Data Center Forum.

— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-Gen Data Center Forum