Go Ahead, Take The Juniper Challenge

When it comes to the market for network switching products, there is nothing more sobering than a good, hard look at Cisco's share of the enterprise segment. Cisco owns some 70 percent of the market for intelligently moving packets of data around the network, according to market researcher Synergy. The nearest competitor is HP's ProCurve unit, which holds just a little more than 6 percent followed by that storied vendor 3Com with 4 percent. That is just amazing for a market that rakes in more than $4 billion per quarter. After that, the list of players includes a litany of companies that not only let opportunity slip through their fingers over the years but failed to really leverage the channel to mount a siege against Cisco.

ROBERT C. DEMARZO Can be reached via e-mail at rdemarzo@cmp.com.

Yes, the story is dramatically different in the SOHO/consumer market, but we are talking serious business here. For the most part, the market has been left without a viable alternative to Cisco. So this week, Juniper, although a fraction of the size of Cisco, has decided it's time someone stepped in. No, the executives at Juniper are not crazy or foolhardy. They know an opportunity when they see one. And they know they have something that no other competitor has had in the long and bloody history of competing against Cisco—a growing and loyal channel. What they also know is that everyone will say publicly Juniper doesn't stand a chance and offer up a list of reasons why selling its switch is the wrong strategy. Then they will privately admit in the corridors and to friends that Juniper did the right thing.

This isn't about underdogs, it's about choice. It is about a company with a chance to become No. 2 in the market and in doing so create opportunity for VARs and their customers. Maybe ROI Networks CEO Jeff Hiebert said it best: "People are demanding a Coke and a Pepsi in this market. This is not a 'me too' play, this is the next generation of Ethernet switching." Hiebert had to choose his words carefully given the fact the company put a gag order on details until the official announcement Jan. 29. Despite that, Senior Editor Andrew Hickey was able to get some of the technical specs, which you can read about in our cover story and on ChannelWeb.com.

Juniper's announcement comes as we are about to release a major study on alternatives in the channel in several key product categories, data networking among them. What the study found is that the channel wants alternatives and is willing to invest in alternative brands. But what holds the most promise for Juniper is the fact that 56 percent of the VARs we surveyed said they were free to recommend a brand to their customers without any formal internal evaluation. That gives Juniper plenty of VARs willing to sell Pepsi to their clients who have been drinking Coke for a long, long time.

Are you thirsty for change? CMP Channel Vice President/Editorial Director Robert C. DeMarzo is at rdemarzo@cmp.com.