Cisco Jabs "Good Enough" Networking Rivals

cisco rob lloyd

No doubt, Cisco is a bit stressed these days. The company’s stock is trading near a 52-week low as CEO John Chambers tries to exit certain consumer markets while remaining in others. In the enterprise space, rivals like Hewlett-Packard and Juniper Networks claim to be chipping away at Cisco’s dominance.

Now, Cisco Executive VP Rob Lloyd and the Cisco marketing team have pieced together a promotional and educational campaign to publicize Cisco’s perspectives. The effort includes webcasts, white papers and heck — even a viral video that attacks rivals without mentioning anyone by name:

So, what’s The VAR Guy’s take on Cisco Systems? Our resident blogger checked in with some channel partners, who suggest Cisco’s business challenges have little to do with products and more to do with sales strategies. Over the past five years, those partners suggest, some of Cisco’s sales initiatives have gone a little soft as selected senior executives left the company for new opportunities.

Either way, the sleeping giant seems to be awakening. Rob Lloyd is set to share Cisco’s perspectives on April 27. But The VAR Guy will be watching — and listening — closely to see if Cisco sharpens its sales strategies as well.

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