Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has seen its share of ups and down through the years under the leadership of Chairman and CEO John Chambers. Now that reign is about to come to an end, leaving almost none of the old tech giants from the 1990s with their same CEOs in place. On Monday, May 4, 2015, Chambers announced his retirement as chief executive officer.

This will mark a sea change in the technology landscape, but maybe not in the way that most people might think. 24/7 Wall St. wanted to look at how this is the case and what it means for Cisco and the technology landscape. One issue that is very surprising here is that the effective date is very soon — July 26, 2015. Chuck Robbins has been named to replace Chambers as CEO.

One thing to consider here is that Chambers will not just be walking out of Cisco entirely. He will assume the role of executive chairman and will continue to serve as the chairman of Cisco’s board. Chambers is 65 years old. Also, Cisco, under his stewardship, had among the largest stock buybacks of all time. Chambers also helped Cisco have one of the best dividends in the Dow. He was also one of the top reasons that Cisco was one of the few stocks to own for the next decade in prior years.

Cisco’s formal release said that Robbins was also elected to the board of directors, effective May 1, 2015.

His replacement is nearly a 20-year veteran with Cisco. Robbins joined the networking and communications equipment leader all the way back in 1997. After moving up through the ranks, he most recently was Cisco’s senior vice president of worldwide operations. This had him in charge of global sales and partner teams, which Cisco said was $47 billion in business for the company.

Robbins has also helped lead and execute many of Cisco’s investments and strategy shifts. This was said to include building the industry’s most powerful partner program — now worth more than $40 billion in revenue to the company each year. Robbins was also shown to have driven the reinvention of Cisco’s sales organization in recent years.

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Chambers said:

This is the perfect time for Chuck Robbins to become Cisco’s next Chief Executive Officer. We’ve selected a very strong leader at a time when Cisco is in a very strong position. Today’s pace of change is exponential. Every company, city and country is becoming digital, navigating disruptive markets, and Cisco’s role in the digital transformation has never been more important. Our next CEO needs to thrive in a highly dynamic environment, to be capable of accelerating what is working very well for Cisco, and disrupting what needs to change. Chuck is unique in his ability to translate vision and strategy into world-class execution, bringing together teams and ecosystems to drive results. Chuck knows every Cisco segment, technology area, and geography, and will move the company forward with the speed required to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us. He is a champion of the Cisco culture and has an incredible ability to inspire, energize, and connect with employees, partners, customers and global leaders. Chuck’s vision, strategy and execution track record is exactly what Cisco needs as we enter our next chapter, which I am confident will be even more impactful and exciting than our last.

Robbins was also said to be a key architect of Cisco’s strategy for the commercial business segment, which now represents 25% of Cisco’s total business. Robbins was shown to have sponsored the security and collaboration businesses at the executive level, and he was a sponsor for the Sourcefire and Meraki acquisitions.

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Robbins said:

I joined Cisco 17 years ago because I wanted to be a part of a company where I believed the possibilities were limitless. Today, I am even more convinced that Cisco is that company. Over the past 20 years, John Chambers’ vision and leadership have built Cisco into one of the most important companies in the world; a company fiercely committed to delivering for its customers, shareholders, partners, and employees. The opportunity that lies ahead for Cisco is enormous, and the ability to lead this next chapter is deeply humbling and incredibly exhilarating. I am focused on accelerating the innovation and execution that our customers need from us. Their success will continue to drive us. At a time when our industry is on the cusp of more disruption than we’ve ever encountered, I couldn’t be more confident in our ability to win, or more honored to lead this great company.

As far as the transition and future role of Chambers, he will devote his time to supporting Robbins and engaging closely with customers and governments around the world, with a focus on leading Cisco’s role in country digitization.

If you know Cisco’s history, this transition makes sense. Chambers first joined Cisco in 1991 as head of sales, before becoming CEO back in 1995.

The one issue that 24/7 Wall St. would point out is that several years ago Chambers indicated that the company succession plan might have several business heads reporting under a structure. Whether that will be the case is something that will have to be seen in time.

It makes sense that Cisco’s head would be sales-oriented. That is not a change from the prior effort. Still, this marks a sea change at Cisco — and in the old tech giants.

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Cisco shares were up fractionally at $29.21 just after Monday’s opening bell. The consensus analyst target is $30.21, and the stock has a 52-week range of $22.43 to $30.31.

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