Cisco was the world's largest supplier of networking equipment and solutions. As Cisco grew, each department built independent local area networks (LANs) that used different protocols, impeding information flow. In 1997, Cisco developed an intranet to connect the separate LANs and wide area networks (WANs) across locations into a single infrastructure. By acquiring nearly 20 companies, Cisco expanded its intranet technologies to include LAN and WAN switches, remote access, and internet software to manage its growing global corporate network.