Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • IT Management
    • Mobile
    • Networking

    Cisco Faces Increased Competition from Juniper, ProCurve

    By
    Nicholas Kolakowski
    -
    February 13, 2009
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Efficiency is the name of the road map game for enterprise networking in 2009, at least according to one Cisco Systems executive.

      “Today, you get servers from one company, SAN from another, and then IT pays their employees and contractors to assemble it – and only once it’s assembled can you move workload to it and draw business value,” Doug Gourlay, director of product management for Cisco Data Center Solutions, said in an interview.

      “But what if all that came pre-assembled? Preconfigured systems would have more efficiency because the systems aren’t slapped together.”

      Efficiency would also appeal to network customers looking to shave costs in an era of moribund economics.
      Despite the recession, however, Cisco plans to make a push into new markets such as the data center, as evidenced by the public commitment in Oct. 2008 by CEO John Chambers to grow the company’s IT budget by 10 percent in 2009.

      In addition to taking a more unified approach to its networking and data center business, Cisco has already begun deepening its commitment to virtualization, pairing with VMWare on a number of solutions, including the Cisco Nexus 1000V, a virtual switch that helps manage and network virtual machines within the data center.

      In June 2008, Cisco also launched the Data Center 3.0 initiative, designed to offer IT administrators everything from virtualized application hosting services to application acceleration and video delivery, with a number of these solutions relying on VMware software.

      Despite its embracing virtualization, Cisco faces increased competition in the networking arena from the likes of HP ProCurve and Juniper, both of which have been making their own virtualization inroads.

      “Networking was traditionally a black art; some did it very well, and you didn’t stray from them because they were the only ones that could do it,” Rob Whiteley, an analyst with Forrester Research, said in an interview. “Today, you can buy a network on a chip.”
      A flexible network that presents a mature open-source alternative, Whiteley adds, could put a lot of pressure on Cisco’s network vendors – which in turn forces the company to innovate above and beyond.

      All three vendors – Cisco, ProCurve and Juniper – have realized that networking for enterprise now extends far beyond merely wiring up the building; key to dominating market share over the short- to medium-term will be the ability to create a flexible, largely automated and well-managed network that can interface well with virtual components.

      “There are some interesting implications – Cisco has been talking about the network as platform for a long time,” Whiteley said. “I think we’re trending towards network as middleware, that happens to be I/O intensive, that’s all about supporting applications.”

      Which leads, perhaps inevitably, to a discussion of enterprise clouds. Currently the hot trend in the IT world, cloud computing is something for which all three companies have been preparing, to various degrees.

      “Cisco is clued into how disruptive cloud technology really is; that’s why they’re interested in making relationships with VMware and service providers,” Whiteley said. “That’s going to be the big trend in 2009 for Cisco – can they capitalize on that before Juniper and ProCurve position themselves?”

      With Juniper recently having entered into a partnership with IBM to handle network connectivity for the latter’s cloud computing, that question suddenly becomes a pressing one – and will only be answered by time.

      Nicholas Kolakowski
      Nicholas Kolakowski is a staff editor at eWEEK, covering Microsoft and other companies in the enterprise space, as well as evolving technology such as tablet PCs. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Playboy, WebMD, AARP the Magazine, AutoWeek, Washington City Paper, Trader Monthly, and Private Air. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×