Vendor Ratings: Cisco Systems, Inc.

Overall Rating: Positive as of 10 October 2002

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Initiative	Rating	Status
Corporate Viability

Strategy	Positive

Financial	Strong Positive

Marketing	Strong Positive

Organization	Positive

Product/Services/Technologies

Product/Service	Positive

Enterprise Infrastructure	Stong Positive

Enterprise Voice	Positive

Optical	Promising

Service Provider Voice	Caution

Technology	Positive

Pricing	Strong Negative

Customer Service/Product Support

Sales/Distribution	Positive

Service & Support	Strong Positive






Cisco Systems and Voice: The Untold Story 30 July 2002 Mark Fabbi Despite Cisco's campaign to migrate to an open, IP-based voice world, the company is attempting to drive its installed base toward its own voice solutions by using Cisco-specific features in its infrastructure solutions. Act Now to Protect Against Cisco Maintenance Price Increases 19 June 2002 Mark Fabbi Lawrence Orans Cisco Systems plans to "adjust" its maintenance pricing. Enterprises can protect themselves against these rising maintenance prices if they act immediately. Cisco Can't Guarantee Upgrades With New Wireless LAN 23 April 2002 Ken Dulaney Mark Fabbi Cisco Systems' new wireless LAN gear promises the ability to incorporate future standards to enhance wireless performance, security and compatibility. However, it likely has a premium price and some potential upgrade risk. Enterprise Content Delivery Network Magic Quadrant 1H02 18 March 2002 Lawrence Orans The emerging ECDN market is rife with product differentiation and varying degrees of vendor viability. No vendor has exhibited enough dominance to occupy a position in the Leaders' quadrant. Global Campus LAN Magic Quadrant for 1H02 20 February 2002 Mark Fabbi The campus switching market is rapidly maturing. Although there are continued innovations, the key for vendor viability will be market share. Despite the market maturity, there are still noteworthy changes in our Magic Quadrant. 1H02 N.A. Magic Quadrants: Voice/Data Convergence 20 February 2002 Kathleen Simpson Strategic positioning and posturing surrounding voice/data converged solutions from North American vendors continues. Avaya joins Nortel Networks and Cisco Systems as Leaders in the more-than-100-lines Magic Quadrant. Web Infrastructure Optimization Magic Quadrant for 2002 8 January 2002 Mark Fabbi Hardware-based devices to optimize communications within the Internet data center continue to be fertile ground for innovation. Our Magic Quadrant provides a first look at the established players and a view of future developments. Will Cisco's Reorganization Affect You? 31 December 2001 Joseph Baylock The unification of Cisco engineering and marketing forces into consolidated groups bodes well for near-term Cisco performance. However, this does not ensure that Cisco will become a marketing-driven company over the long term. Cisco Systems VPN 3000 Concentrators 3 December 2001 Patrick Worms Cisco Systems offers the VPN 3002, 3005, 3015, 3030, 3060, and 3080 Concentrators for the enterprise market. The product support ranges from low-end VPN hardware clients to large-scale VPN concentrators. Cisco Systems Cisco Aironet 350 Wireless LAN Products 28 November 2001 Kimberly Hiller The Cisco Aironet 350 WLAN Series features selectable transmit power, a rugged AP version, World Mode international roaming, 802.1x-based security, and backward compatibility with the Aironet 340 series. Cisco Systems: Can Enterprise Beget Service Provider? 25 October 2001 Mark Fabbi Astute acquisitions and outstanding marketing, service and support have led Cisco to dominate enterprise data and Internet core routing. Success in broad service provider markets will prove more elusive. Cisco Reorganizes to Highlight Products' Profitability 30 August 2001 Jay Pultz Cisco Systems has restructured to focus on products rather than enterprise and service provider markets. Gartner believes the move will benefit customers modestly. Cisco's eAgent Program Allows Channel Partners to Focus on Services 22 August 2001 Michael Haines Cisco Systems recently launched eAgent, a sales program for its channel partners that rewards partners with a fee for securing product orders as part of an overall solution sale, therefore relieving the participating channel partners of the numerous financial burdens associated with hardware resale. Cisco Security Flaw Shows Simple Is More Secure 6 July 2001 John Pescatore A potentially serious security flaw in Cisco Systems' Internetwork Operating System (IOS) software underscores the inadvisability of integrating applications into operating systems. Cisco iSCSI to Fibre Channel Router 19 June 2001 Robert Passmore Cisco's SN 5420 router will enable computers to use NICs and IP networking to access SCSI volumes in Fibre Channel SANs, but price, performance and management complexity limit its range of usefulness. 1H01 Campus LAN Magic Quadrant 11 June 2001 Mark Fabbi A turbulent six months saw many campus LAN vendors decline in execution. However, strategic choices for the enterprise are becoming more clearly defined as the market continues to mature, as illustrated in our Magic Quadrant.

Lead Analyst Mark Fabbi


10 October 2002	Overall Rating: Positive
Mark Fabbi Cisco�s market share continues to increase while the enterprise market is stagnant, we see Cisco attempting to extract more money from the market. Enterprises continuing to award default business to Cisco will pay an increasing premium for Cisco equipment. Download PowerPoint (.ppt) presentation

6 August 2002	Overall Rating: Positive
Mark Fabbi Enterprises must challenge Cisco to support open standards with its new IP voice capabilities and not purchase features that only support "Cisco telephony" before making decisions on next-generation voice solutions. Cisco Systems and Voice: The Untold Story 30 July, 2002

31 July 2002	Overall Rating: Positive
Mark Fabbi Overall, we rate Cisco's products a "positive" due to its clear leadership in the enterprise network infrastructure market and its expanded support for the enterprise voice market. Vendor Rating: Cisco Systems - Product Details 31 July, 2002
Mark Fabbi Tremendous brand recognition, and top-notch service and support have led Cisco Systems to a dominant position in today�s corporate networks. However, the often-onerous financial premiums that Cisco demands have the potential to be its Achilles' heel. Vendor Rating: Cisco Systems -- Preparing for the Future 31 July, 2002

11 July 2002	Overall Rating: Positive
Lawrence Orans Mark Fabbi Enterprises can protect themselves against Cisco's rising maintenance prices if they act immediately. Act Now to Protect Against Cisco Maintenance Price Increases 19 June 2002

22 Oct 2001	Overall Rating: Positive
Mark Fabbi Tremendous marketing, strong brand recognition, and top-notch service and support have led Cisco Systems to a dominant position in today's corporate networks. The challenge for Cisco is to transform this influence into opportunities and revenue in other market areas. Read the presentation below for more details. Download PowerPoint (.ppt) presentation

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