communications software

In the wake of Microsoft's Windows Azure announcement on Monday, it seems Yahoo will not be left out of the cloud-computing buzz.

Yahoo's Zimbra is tapping into the cloud to deliver a collaboration platform for educational institutions. Through Zimbra Hosted, universities now have access to the Zimbra Collaboration Suite without having to manage on-premises software and hardware.

Forget the switches and routers that built Cisco Systems into a giant, albeit somewhat boring, company at the core of the Internet.

These days, the company is peddling e-mail software, video conferencing systems, cable TV boxes -- even furniture -- as it tries to break out of the data center and get its products in front of ordinary office workers.

"Cisco is kind of like the Madonna of networking," said Mark Sue, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets. "It is continuously trying to reinvent itself."