Field and Channel Response to Gartners Debunking the Myth of the Single Vendor Network

Cisco Analyst Note Field and Channel Response

What:

Negative Research Note

Firm:
When:
Report Title:
Analyst(s):

Gartner, Inc.
11/17/2010
Debunking the Myth of the Single-Vendor Network (Report # G00208758)
Mark Fabbi, Debra Curtis

__________________________________________________________________
Impact:
Negative
Relevance:
High
Research Note Overview:

Gartner published a research note advocating that most organizations should consider a
multivendor approach to building their networks. Gartner claims this approach yields significant cost
savings without adding network complexity.

Background on Research Note:

The research conducted as a basis for this note consists of hundreds of customer inquiries, two
Gartner Symposium workshops, and nine in-depth customer interviews and is a follow-on piece to
Mark Fabbis 2009 report, Introducing a Second Network Vendor Saves Money & Solidifies
Operations. Of the nine interviewed customers, only one was a Cisco customer: Western
Washington University. The remainder were primarily Juniper and HP customers.
Gartner Strategic Planning Assumption
Gartner assumes that Cisco will not able to make adequate changes to deliver a lower five-year
total cost of ownership (TCO) for network infrastructure and operations compared to alternative,
dual-vendor approaches through 2015.
Cisco Analysis and Position:

We are disappointed with Gartners analysis (a list of Gartners key findings and recommendations
is included later in this document). However, we are not surprised by Gartners statements, as they
have been proactively recommending multivendor networks to their clients for the last few years.
(Gartner advocates this approach to drive down costsfor networking equipment as well as other
technologies.)

Cisco has provided Gartner with alternate analyst perspectives on the value of a single-vendor
architectural approach, and we continue to support this position through customer success stories
and ongoing communications. A number of notable analysts have documented their findings and/or
are willing to field press inquiries to support Ciscos position. Details may be found in the section
below entitled Single-Vendor Architectural Approach. Over the course of subsequent interactions,
we will be updating Gartner on the overall Borderless Networks roadmap, including a deep dive for
network management.

The Gartner report also touches on Gartners perception that Ciscos products and services come
at a premium and notes limitations in Ciscos network management capabilities.

Although Cisco has recent launched entry-level switching, routing, and wireless solutions (the
Cisco Catalyst 2960-S Series Switches, 1900 Series Integrated Services Router Generation 2
[ISR G2], and Aironet 1040 Series Access Points), Gartner did not take these into consideration,

Field and Channel Response to Gartners Debunking the Myth of the Single Vendor Network
as they are too new in the market to have received customer feedback.
Key messages to deliver to customers and prospects:
Single-Vendor Architectural Approach
1. Ciscos Borderless Networks architectural approach provides substantial operational benefits
for organizations looking to take advantage of their network to maximize business
opportunities. Although we do have data that illustrates the operational cost savings a
customer can realize from a Borderless Networks solution (see the reference to the Forrester
TEI white paper below), its important to focus our discussions on the business value that is
provided by Borderless Networks services, user services and network/policy management. The
seven questions below can help steer customer discussions:

Do I have a consistent access policy architecture across my network for all users and
devices?

Can mobile devices access my network securely, reliably, and seamlessly?

Can my network deliver real-time collaboration experiences?

Can my network deliver protection from the premises to the cloud?

Can my network deliver optimized performance of applications anytime, anywhere?

Am I using my network to reduce my energy costs?

Is my network ready for current and future regulatory requirements?

2. Alternate industry viewpoints: Competing analyst firms have documented recommendations

for single-vendor networks, citing many of the same financial and operational grounds (applicable
to products and services) that Gartner cites in defense of multivendor networks:
o Forrester Research recently completed a Total Economic Impact (TEI) white paper
highlighting the quantifiable savings and benefits of deploying Cisco Borderless Networks:

Mobility productivity savings of US$5.4 million

Security benefits and savings of $711,000

Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) benefits and cost savings of $2.368 million

Return on investment (ROI) of 163 percent and 12-month ROI

Analyst reference: Andre Kindness, senior analyst for IT infrastructure and operations
professionals.

Other analysts from IDC, Forrester, and the Yankee Group are available to offer their
positive opinions to customers via inquiry meetings about the value of end-to-end networks
(see your analyst relations manager for specific references).

3. Operational costs: Gartners note presents no evidence supporting the claim that best practices
would be sufficient to eliminate the long-term operational cost resulting from introducing a
second vendor. Further, the report does not consider the additional costs and limitations
associated with enforcing the suggested best practices.
4. Operational capabilities: There is no evidence in this note to support the claim that
implementing multivendor management tools will improve operational capabilities with the
incumbent solution.
5. One of the most important issues with multivendor networks is accountability. When
troubleshooting networking problems, customers will spend a significant amount of time and
effort identifying the causes behind incompatibility issues and engaging the appropriate
vendors to have them accept responsibility and correct the error.

Field and Channel Response to Gartners Debunking the Myth of the Single Vendor Network

Network Management
Cisco understands that reducing TCO is a top concern for customer. Cisco has focused on simplifying
network management and providing consistent user interfaces across platforms. CiscoWorks LAN
Management Solution (LMS) 4.0 introduced significant new capabilities with Work Centers for network
services and basic support for multivendor devices using Simple Network Management Protocol
(SNMP):

Cisco devices can be managed by Cisco and non Cisco management applications. The level of
device support a management application offers depends heavily on its instrumentation and the
ability for the network management application to test, certify, and support it. Best-in-class
instrumentation is provided on Cisco platforms, whether managed by a multivendor tool or by a
solution such as CiscoWorks LMS.

CiscoWorks LMS provides a significant advantage in lowering the cost of deployment and
simplifying the lifecycle process (discovery, management, monitoring, troubleshooting, and
remediation). Configuration of network services such as Cisco EnergyWise and medianet are
streamlined with LMS.

The cost to manage a multivendor network is high when considering the complexity of configuring
capabilities such as EnergyWise and medianet. Additional features such as Cisco IOS Embedded
Event Manager (EEM), virtual routing and forwarding (VRF), and Virtual Switching System (VSS)
become even more difficult for multivendor management tools.

Professional and Technical Services

Cisco consistently outscores its competitors in customer ratings of service and support:
o

In a customer survey in 2010, Gartner ranked Cisco first in services with an average rating
of 6.1 on a 7-point scale; Juniper finished third with an average score of 5.47.

In the 2010 version of CIO Insight magazines Vendor Value survey of 684 enterprise IT
decision makers, Cisco ranked first in ratings of service and support; HP and Juniper
scored twelfth and fourth, respectively.

The better a vendors technical support services, the more quickly and effectively it will likely
remedy a customers network downtime and mitigate downtimes staggering costs. Thus, Ciscos
competitive edge in services quality potentially yields a huge financial ROI:
o

Saving a mere 27 seconds when restoring a 1500-user healthcare provider network from a
crash, because of Ciscos stronger technical support, would completely wipe out HPs
claimed TCO advantage.

If Cisco can reduce the downtime by 60 seconds vs. HP, the same user would save over
$300,000 more per year.

As Gartner acknowledges, Ciscos technical support pricing as a proportion of hardware prices is

generally in line with industry averages (Source: Gartner, Inc., Survey Analysis: North American
Telecom Carriers Spending Priorities for 2010, Venecia K Liu, March 1, 2010).

Field and Channel Response to Gartners Debunking the Myth of the Single Vendor Network

Resources for Partners:

_____________________________________________________________________
o

Forrester Research has recently completed a Total Economic Impact (TEI) white paper that
highlights the quantifiable savings and benefits of deploying the Cisco Borderless Network
Architecture. View it at www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns1015/bn_TEIstudy.pdf.

A recent Lippis Report paper highlights the benefits of a single-vendor approach to networking,
focused on JetBlue as the customer case study. Learn more at
http://lippisreport.com/2009/09/navigating-network-infrastructure-expenditures-during-businesstransformations-2/

Borderless Networks Business Benefits Tool: This interactive tool models customer scenarios and
quantifies the total economic impact and potential value that enterprises may realize by deploying
Cisco Borderless Networks. (Target release date March 1 on Partner Central.)

Borderless Networks Customer Case Studies Kit: This kit is a compilation of real-world customer
deployments that demonstrate the realized business benefits of deploying an integrated Borderless
Network Architecture across the enterprise, as opposed to a solution based on point products.
(Target release date March 1 on Partner Central.)

Gartner Key Findings

Introducing a second vendor into the network infrastructure has no long-term impact on operational
costs as long as organizations follow best practices.

Introducing a second networking vendor reduces TCO for most organizations by at least 15 to 25
percent over a five-year period.

Gartner did not encounter any instances where operational cost savings offset the Cisco equipment
cost premium.

Most organizations introducing a second vendor claim a lasting decrease in network complexity,
compared with an end-to-end Cisco environment.

Network operations teams already using some form of multivendor management tools for fault
alerting, configuration, or performance management are in a position to benefit from the secondvendor strategy.

Gartner Recommendations

Network architects and CIOs need to consider alternative network vendors to deliver a functional
network solution at a suitable price point.

To deal with a second vendor in the network and improve operational capabilities with their
incumbent solution, network operations teams should invest in tools that are multivendor-capable.

FAQ:
Q: What if my customer wants to speak to an analyst for a second opinion or get more
information about the Gartner note?
Ask your Cisco representative to contact the analyst relations manager for your technology area, or
your theater analyst relations lead, for guidance and background information, and for help steering

Field and Channel Response to Gartners Debunking the Myth of the Single Vendor Network
your customer to an analyst that has looked at the question of TCO in single- and multivendor
networks and has come to a different conclusion than Gartner.
Positive analyst references:
The Analyst Relations Team has a list of analysts, at firms such as IDC and Forrester Research,
that have analyzed the benefits of single-vendor networks and concluded that they are the better
choice for our customers. The team can arrange for your customer to speak with one of these
analysts so that they hear a different perspective about the benefits of single-vendor networks.
Contact your Cisco analyst relations manager for a recommendation about which analyst or firm
would be best to speak to your customer(s).
Q: Can I send this document to my customers?
No. This response document is for Cisco partner use only. You may communicate the points
highlighted in the document, but you cannot send this internal document to your customers.
Q: How can my customers get a copy of the Gartner report?
They will have to obtain it from Gartner if they have a research contract with them. Cisco does not
have reprint or distribution rights to this document, so we are not allowed to share it with our
customers.
Q: Where can I go for more information?
Ask your Cisco representative to contact the analyst relations manager for your technology area, or
your theater analyst relations lead.