LAS VEGAS: Networking giant Cisco will invest USD one billion (about Rs 6,200 crore) over the next two years to expand its cloud business and build a "network of clouds" with partners to take on rivals like IBM and Amazon.

Cisco intends to build the world's largest global "Intercloud" or a network of clouds to capitalize on the growing trend of companies opting for services rather than buying and maintaining own IT infrastructure.

The service will be delivered through global partners, including India's third largest software firm Wipro, Australian telecom firm Telstra and tech distributor Ingram Micro.

Using Cisco's cloud, partners would be able to offer services like email, conferencing and security.

"We will invest USD one billion in engineering work, setting up Cisco data centers and sales and go to market work. We have over 65,000 partners across the globe and we will engage with them and offer open, high value networks that are secure," Cisco Senior Vice President Worldwide Cloud Sales and Go to Market, Nick Earle, told reporters here yesterday.

He added that the addressable cloud market for Cisco and 'our' partners is expected to rise from $ 22 billion to $ 88 billion between 2013-2017

Read Also: Facebook To Recognize Faces With Precision Of Human Eye and Google Encrypts All Emails For A Spy-Free Gmail