Cisco
our customers by sharing ideas and exploring possibilities enabled by a networked world. Today, we are helping our customers share and address their needs by linking our technologies to their business challenges. Ultimately, we are delivering value to them through solutions that take full advantage of the breadth of our networking expertise.
Although our enterprise, service provider, and commercial customers have historically built separate networks, we are seeing a transition toward a Network of Networks with transparent integration across extranets, intranets, and the Internet. In short, they want Cisco products that work seamlessly across all networks. And they expect us to present a consistent product architecture and strategy with clear product roadmaps—all brought together with a differentiated technology message and compelling business value proposition.
Together with the accelerating consolidation in the communication equipment industry, we believe these trends will play to our advantage, assuming we execute effectively. Cisco is well-positioned to succeed in this environment because of our financial staying power; the breadth of our products; our end-to-end architecture; the diversity of customers we serve around the world; and our Internet expertise, which is unique in our industry. These sources of differentiation give our customers confidence when they choose Cisco as their preferred networking partner.
From a financial perspective, we closed the fiscal year with one of the strongest positions in our segment. We were very pleased with our cash and investments position, which ended the year at $18.5 billion. We continue to dramatically improve our Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), the average time an invoice remains outstanding prior to payment, and we are starting to return to traditional inventory turn levels. A company's ability to maintain a strong financial position gives it the flexibility to make investments in new technology and operations that will provide for long-term success. In economies that are tough, this is a source of confidence for customers and investors in our long-term ability to provide quality products and support.
Our Network of Networks architectural approach will play to the areas our customers value in a consolidating market. More and more enterprises and service providers will standardize on a few preferred equipment vendors-or just one-for improved cost of ownership, network reliability, and investment protection. As a result, only two or three companies will likely emerge as preferred strategic network partners in today's marketplace, and we believe Cisco is positioned to be one of these leaders.
Our primary goal is to help our customers increase their competitive advantage and profitability via their networks. In recent trips around the world, our leadership team found that the vast majority of CEOs, regardless of industry, are very much committed to the productivity improvements resulting from Internet-based applications. Business executives and government leaders alike understand the benefits offered by these e-applications. As the economic well-being of their companies and countries improves, we believe they will invest in networked applications and associated infrastructures.
We continue to create executive partnerships at the highest levels with our customers through our Internet Business Solutions Group to help them implement their e-business [next page]