Cisco's Spending Plan Can't Save Shares

Cisco's (CSCO Quote) plans to boost its technology spending -- despite the ongoing econmic slump -- were unable to bolster its shares Wednesday, as the networking giant's stock joined the broader market's downturn.

According to various media reports, CEO John Chambers told a Gartner event audience late Tuesday that the company will increase its tech spending by 10% next year. Cisco needs to increase its tech budget to cope with demand for a slew of emerging technologies, he explained.

Despite the current economic malaise, Chambers is bullish about Cisco's prospects, highlighting technologies such as virtualization and cloud computing as key drivers behind the company's spending Tuesday. Cisco has already partnered with VMware (VMW Quote) to support virtualization, a technology which is used to expand computers' physical capacities, and Chambers also wants to boost the company's Web-based "cloud" services. ...