Cisco Systems Inc. said it will switch to what it calls a "streamlined operating model," as the struggling networking giant looks to refocus operations and simplify its oft-criticized management structure.

The San Jose, Calif., company has struggled to expand beyond its core business of routers and switches, focusing its attention in as many as 30 different directions. That distraction has allowed rivals such as Juniper Networks Inc. to take market share and has led to criticism from analysts and investors.

Cisco said Thursday that it will streamline its sales, services and engineering organizations to focus on what it said are "the five areas driving the growth of networks and the Internet" -- routing, switching and services; collaboration; data-center virtualization and cloud computing; video; and architectures for business transformation.