7 Arguments Against Purchasing Cisco Equipment

In the world of enterprise telecommunications, you have a lot of options. It used to be that Cisco equipment was the go-to solution for business networking, much like it used to be that all business mainframes were made by IBM. Today, that's not really true. There are several excellent companies all competing against Cisco.

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So, if you have a CTO or other ranking officer who's still convinced that Cisco is the only way to go for your business telecommunications, here are seven reasons you might want to look beyond Cisco when making your next purchase.

{{cta('0e93f51d-d5a3-40c0-a555-8f897ddbfb79','justifyleft')}}Seven Problems With Buying Cisco Equipment Today

1. Their drive to diversify is hurting their core business. This isn't a new accusation, and Cisco has recognized it and is trying to fix it, but results have been spotty so far. Their failed attempts to diversify have caused them to become unfocused, and less able to deliver the high-quality networking equipment they were previously known for.

2. Most of their solutions to their problems involve cutting staff. Granted, it's a matter of some debate as to when layoffs are a good solution to company problems, but cutting staff internally doesn't seem to be doing them much good. It reduces their ability to respond to your needs and your problems.

3. They're falling behind on innovation. Because they got distracted chasing after sideline ventures like Flip phones and TV boxes, other companies are pulling past them in the tech-development race. Right now, buying Cisco equipment doesn't bring a promise of having future-focused tech that will grow alongside you. It really just means maintaining the status quo.

4. They still show few signs of having a real direction. Again, in terms of being a long-term investment, this is worrisome. While the situation is better today than it was a year ago, their stock has been up and down like a YoYo and there's still little sign that they're truly back on track. Most analysts are still dissatisfied with the level of change their seeing in the company, and that makes them an iffy proposition for long-term partnerships.

5. It's not worth the higher price. It really isn't
    an exaggeration to say that Cisco equipment is generally twice as expensive as products from one of their most solid competitors. A 2X price point is justifiable, but only if it delivers at least 2X the benefits. There's little evidence that Cisco still provides that necessary level of payoff today.

6. More and more tests show Cisco falling behind. While admittedly not from an entirely unbiased source (who is?) this series of benchmarks shows that Cisco kit, in fact, generally under-performs when compared to other major brands on the market. While undoubtedly some could find other benchmarks were Cisco triumphs, none the less, it casts further doubt on whether their products are worth the 2X price.

7. They've been involved in some pretty questionable partnerships. While some may balk at bringing morality into a business discussion, there's pretty credible evidence that Cisco has corroborated with the Chinese government to help suppress dissidents. The resulting lawsuits from this behavior are also troubling from a business view, regardless of the morality of -allegedly- helping suppress human rights for the sake of government contracts.

What this all boils down to is that Cisco is no longer the sure-fire go-to solution for your business networking needs. There are other companies that provide equivalent products, which perform better in some benchmarks, at substantially lower prices. Combine that with Cisco's internal problems and their questionable governmental partnerships, and the argument against buying Cisco equipment gets pretty solid.