Yeah, I'd agree that the telecom market is technologically closer to the enterprise networking market than, say, much of .net is to the desktop market. But they're hardly identical--from what I understand, CSCO's IOS was purpose-built for enterprise networking, which really has different needs than telecom (which is why JNPR has been able to make a much better purpose-built high-end router).
Also, from a business perspective, CSCO will have a tough time getting telecom firms to accept them as a Gorilla, since they don't really know CSCO all that well, and don't want a Gorilla in their market. MSFT, on the other hand, is targeting .net at its normal customers--consumers, developers, knowledge workers & enterprises. In other words, MSFT is trying to get its whole value chain to cross the chasm with it. I'm not sure that CSCO can do this.
At any rate, each firm appears to be at a strategic inflection point, and each will struggle, albeit in different ways. |
