he eluded to the possibility that ASND's ATM switches with MPLS might encroach upon CSCO's bread and butter - the layer 3 routing/switching market.
Gary, just to be completely accurate, Stimpson alluded to ATM/wMPLS encroaching on the router business. Layer 3 routing switches are not CSCO's bread and butter. They are fighting here for every win, with the likes of BAY, XYLN, etc. Their bread and butter is routers. Big, fast routers; layer 2, lots of software.
My concern as a CSCO holder is the router business slowing down. They have no competition here. But in routing switches, and ATM switching, there is plenty of competition. They allude to this in each and every 10-Q that I can remember. For instance,
"The results of operations for the quarter ended April 25, 1998 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in future periods,
and the Company's operating results may be subject to quarterly fluctuations as a result of a number of factors. These factors include
the integration of people, operations, and products from acquired businesses and technologies; increased competition in the networking
industry; the overall trend toward industry consolidation; the introduction and market acceptance of new technologies and standards,
including routing switches, Gigabit Ethernet Switching, Tag Switching, currently also known as multiprotocol label switching (MPLS)
and voice, video and data products; variations in sales channels, product costs, or mix of products sold; the timing of orders and
manufacturing lead times; and changes in general economic conditions, any of which could have a material adverse impact on
operations and financial results." |
