Cisco Adds to Data Center 3.0 with Nexus 5000

| Apr 10, 2008 | Enterprise Network Systems | Competitive Update

| Analyst: Steven Schuchart

Current Perspective: Positive
Vendor Importance: High
Market Impact: High

Event Summary

April 8, 2008 -- Cisco has announced the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series of data center-class switches, introduced interoperability via an ecosystem of application and systems partners, and accelerated adoption with a data center channel partner enablement strategy.

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on Cisco’s release of the Nexus 5000 and its evolution of the Cisco Data Center Networking Infrastructure (DCNI) specialization 2.0, because these announcements fit seamlessly into its Data Center 3.0 strategy and are strong elements of the emerging data center fabric market.

• Vendor Importance: High to Cisco, because it has put a considerable amount of time and resources into its Data Center 3.0 strategy, including the acquisition of Nexus 5000 creator Nuova. The Nexus line represents the first products in the emerging data center fabric market that will become increasingly more important as seamless high-speed internal data center interconnects become an enabling component in enterprise virtualization strategies.

• Market Impact: High on the Ethernet switching market, as well as the nascent data center fabric market, because Cisco is literally charging out of the gate with multiple Nexus products and initiatives to strengthen its data center practice with Cisco Data Center Networking Infrastructure 2.0 specialization for reseller partners.

Recommended Competitor Actions

• Woven Systems and Arastra both need to get aggressive with their messages before Cisco completely eats the market out from under them. As startups, both companies face certain credibility challenges, but Cisco’s Nexus announcement actually validates their strategies and both companies should point that out every chance they get.

• Brocade needs to educate customers that they are something beyond a Fibre Channel vendor and can do more than storage networking if it has any hope of competing with Cisco, Woven Systems, and Arastra in the data center market. Ethernet proponent customers simply are not aware of Brocade’s data center efforts or doubt Brocade’s pedigree in Ethernet.

• Competitors in the Ethernet switching market that have not specifically addressed the data center space in terms of low-latency, loss-less connectivity will need to produce a strategy and product in short order. It is clear that Ethernet will be the preferred data center interconnect, but other switching vendors will need to address the latency and loss issues that worry large enterprises.

CLIENTS ONLY

Current Perspective

Competitive Positives and Concerns

Recommended Vendor Actions

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