Hi johnzhang,
<< I don't have the knowledge to judge whether juniper's router is better than or different from Cisco's. But if its technology is a disruptive development, the fight between Juniper and Cisco could be like the one between NTAP and EMC. >>
I am a long-term Cisco stockholder and Cisco reseller, so I presume I am biased on the Cisco vs. Juniper issue. I do have a couple of thoughts, however, that you may want to consider as we progress into the future.
I just returned from a 3 day Cisco technical sales training class for their new AVVID architecture (Architecture for Voice, Video, and Integrated Data). This is some of the most exciting stuff I have seen out of Cisco for some time. IMO, it has the potential to be huge.
In a nutshell, this is their answer to the voice and data convergence issue. With AVVID, voice and data will converge onto a single data network platform. A corporation's network of tie lines, PBXs, etc. will eventually be history, if Cisco has their way. Your phone will simply plug into the same Ethernet jack that your PC uses today. This could turn into another new tornado for Cisco.
The advantage Cisco has in this space is their IOS. This is not a PBX with Ethernet connectivity solution, but a totally new approach that integrates voice into the very fabric of the Enterprise data network. In other words, if you want AVVID, you use Cisco products in your network. I am not aware of any other company that is taking this approach to the problem, although many are addressing the problem in other ways.
This is a very new architecture, but I would suggest a very important one from an investment point of view. Whomever wins the voice/data convergence wars should be the next dominate Enterprise Networking manufacturer, imo.
That being said, I recognize that Juniper is not competing in the Enterprise space, so this shouldn't be a major issue for them over the short term. However, I believe that the battle isn't going to be won by the company that can produce the fastest router. The ultimate winner will be the company that can integrate their offerings into a complete voice and data network solution for the customer.
We should be able to tell over the next year or so what the market acceptance will be, and how the competition is doing. Should be fun to watch.
Comments welcome.
Regards,
DN |
