Cisco Urging VARs To Match HP ProCurve Pricing?

The price-matching initiative came on the heels of Cisco's annual Partner Summit last month where the San Jose, Calif.-based networking giant said it will fight tooth and nail against long-time rival HP as the two powerhouses begin competing in more and more markets.

Cisco could not be reached for comment Tuesday concerning the supposed ProCurve price-match and so far has not publicly revealed plans to match ProCurve prices in the channel.

But Karl Soderlund, ProCurve vice president and general manager of sales and marketing for the Americas, said that he's heard from dozens of partners that Cisco is instructing its VARs to match ProCurve's prices. And while most vendors would be angered by a competitor's attempt to match their prices, Soderlund said HP is thrilled and a bit flattered by the Cisco initiative.

"We actually think this is fantastic," he said, adding that the price match will lead to more awareness and more deals for ProCurve while also pushing solution providers to drive the best value.

"Cisco is heavily reactive," Soderlund added, noting that Cisco's price-matching endeavors illustrate that Cisco considers ProCurve a true competitor and is looking to preserve its market share.

One solution provider, who asked his name not be used, said he hadn't heard from Cisco to match ProCurve's pricing model, but a strategy like that would fit with Cisco's new stance to compete more forcefully against HP.

"Cisco did say at the Partner Summit that they did not want to lose to HP. Some may have interpreted that as match the price," he said, noting, "I have seen no official statements from Cisco to that effect."

Soderlund said the genesis of the new-found ProCurve-Cisco competition stems from ProCurve's gaining momentum in the market and inching up in market share. Soderlund also said that ProCurve is the "price performance leader" and has a strong TCO story that Cisco can't match.

"The win for us is awareness and the entrance into new opportunities," Soderlund said. "We're the price performance leader. We've built our business around it. We don't believe they're going to win more deals. This is another opportunity to drive us into more accounts and get more at bats."

Soderlund said it's unclear how long Cisco will match ProCurve's pricing model, but he added that ProCurve will hang on and compete as long as needed.

"We always need to be prepared to continue executing on our vision," he said. "We're in here for the long-term war, not just the short battle. We'll be ready."