Comment Re:Honest Question (Score 1) 87
I doubt it. Cisco is not comparable to Microsoft in terms of market leverage. There are several sites that cite numbers far less that what M$ enjoys:
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/22780
Also, while Microsoft is dominant at home and on workstations(as well as in the Enterprise), Cisco is primarily used in medium-large businesses. Therefore it's visibility is far less that what Microsoft has. Cisco may be a household name for anyone in the IT field, but Microsoft is a household name period.
If they stopped making blade switches for HP, IBM, and Dell, they would be shooting themselves in the foot. My company saved about $60,000 by using HP switches with our HP blades rather than Cisco switches. Do you really think people would complain much if the Cisco offering disappeared? Furthermore, do you think I'm going to switch to more expensive, untested Cisco blades when I already have something that works?
Cisco needs to tread carefully. Their marketshare has been eroded by high-quality, lower cost options from Nortel, HP, and Juniper. Expanding into new markets while their primary bread-winner is getting hammered is not smart business.