While analysts such as UBS’ Nikos Theodosopoulos lower their revenue expectations for Nortel, Cisco is downright bullish about its growth prospects.
Cisco CEO John Chambers said the company has “never been more comfortable” with its long-term growth goals of 12% to 17%. His bullishness is based on the Internet’s growth and Cisco’s move into new technology markets.
Why wouldn’t Chambers be comfortable; his competition is clueless, visionless and stuck inside the box (and that applies to all not just NT). Cisco was very vulnerable 3 years ago but NT, ALU, Siemens, et al missed the opportunity of the decade to go after them with a new vision and a web services-centric strategy. Instead they each made ‘the box’ their battlefield. It’s over; Cisco by a TKO…–bb
Tongue.In.Cheek
I think Cisco's competitor landscape is going to fundamentally change over the next 24 months. The new competitors I expect to be Google and Microsoft with IBM also potentially making a play. It won't be about boxes but it will be about SOA, Web Services, Cloud Computing and Communications Enabled Applications.
One key battleground will be the fight between SOA and SONA (SONA being a Cisco proprietary technology). Where is service intelligence going to live, in software or network infrastructure software? How will new applications and infrastructures be built dependent on either approach?
Cisco's leadership in network equipment is clear and good for Cisco for capaitalizing on the market opportunity there. However, can they beat Microsoft and Google? Time will tell.
sam
CISO past 8 years got free rid from getting lucratvie contaract from goverment when Nortel was trading at $5 CSCO was trading at $9 Chamber by supporting Bush he got those contract .2009 will be differnt game he is supporting Mccain BUT if Obama gets in office you can say goodbye to 67 percent margins
Another Nortel Watcher
BB and TIC – Yes, Cisco won it's war with the telecom providers where it was competing. There may be small exceptions, but for the most part, the war has been won.
Cisco has a few new battlegrounds coming up. 4G wireless, home networking evolution, and the migration towards cloud computing will introduce new opportunities and competitors for Cisco.
broadbandbill
TiC,
Agreed vehemently regarding the competitive picture in the near future, which is why I stated that Nortel (others) missed the opportunity at the dawn of the Z-era. Instead of preparing for the future they regressed into a hyper-space or was it hyper-time; hyper-continuum? – not for Nortel. The new battlefield will be between CSCO and IBM; both have global scale and corporate smarts. Google is just too green and MSFT lacks the passion they once had…–bb
Clint
Cisco has only done well because they are an American Telecomm Institution. People buy Cisco gear, not for quality but because of the American flag. Much like wahway in China. Cisco has been granted lucrative contract after lucrative contract for generations, which has allowed them to pad their wallets. Having more money means you can make more mistakes, you can buy more companies, you can afford product failures at startup and you can handle bad press. You don't have crooked accounting procedures and executives who fudge the numbers because they are competing against Giants like Cisco on a tilted battlefield. Cisco are always out in front, so they don't have to play out of desperation. Does not matter about faulty gear, failure to deliver, QOS. It is all about the Name, the Flag, perception and huge coffers in the case of Cisco. Comparing Cisco to Nortel given all the facts is just plain ridiculous. I am surprised it is even a headline on here..or am I? The Canadian Telecomm institution known as Nortel on the other hand is largely ignored by the Canadian Gov't because it is not based in Quebec and the Canadian government doesn't care about what goes on in Canada..more about whom is coming to Canada..they will take care of them first and foremost…at least the liberals. Nortel does not get lucrative contracts flying under the maple laugh, because Canada is a resource rich country that is more connected to exporting than the type of businesses that boom in America which Cisco gets a large part of the pie. Having lots of money allows you to be able to undercut the competition and that is why Cisco steals stuff in Nortels backyard. Of course the infamous cisco router that a five year old could build set them on their big journey. What a technical marvel…lol. It is all about Money. Again, to compare the two is just plain dumb.
broadbandbill
Clint,
Obviously, you have been smoking that North American bacon much too long and appear to be grossly confused. As such I have taken it upon myself to set your misinformed @$$ straight so that we can have a meaningful discussion. Besides, not looking forward to seeing you on one of Dr. Phil’s future programs dealing with that proverbial ‘loss’ thing. Thusly, here go the ‘fundamental’ facts of the day:
1. Alcatel, Lucent (later collectively known as ‘ALU’), Nortel, Siemens, Telco Systems, Tellabs, others (too numerous to mention) were all global entities way before Cisco was even a napkin! For info, Cisco was founded in 1984, more than a decade after its nearest future competitor and almost a century after its Canadian counterpart (as in Nortel). 2. You say that ‘people buy Cisco’s gear because of its flag’; if that were true then why didn’t Lucent – a red, white and true blue company – get the same treatment with Uncle Sam? I’m sorry, but I did not hear that; can you please speak louder? 3. And speaking of Alcatel, whose French fessier Cisco is kicking all the way back to Gay Paris; what say you about the fact that Cisco is NOT a French company (though I admit it does sound like one). 4. You are right when you state that ‘comparing Cisco to Nortel is plain ridiculous’, especially given the fact that John Chambers was born only a half a century AFTER Nortel was a GLOBAL player. Nortel only had a 5-decades start before its future nemesis was even born! Yes, you are sooooooo right about the unfairness of this argument. 5. This is my favorite quote of the past year; good news is that it is yours: “The Canadian Telecom institution known as Nortel on the other hand is largely ignored….” Wow, wow, wow; dude, dude, dude – put that bacon pipe down and please get a hold of yourself. If it wasn’t for the Canadian government Nortel would be yet another feather in Cisco’s cap; oops, forgive me – I meant a leaf (as in maple of course). 6. And my second favorite quote of yours: “Having lots of money allows you to be able to undercut the competition and that is why Cisco steals stuff in Nortel’s backyard.” Dude, aren’t you talking about Huawei? Of course you are. Everything west of Toronto looks the same, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not!
No offense Clint but I truly enjoy bitch-slapping village idiots; an art passed to me by my Macedonian grandmother. Yup, you heard right, grandmother! Lay off that bacon, not good for you…–bb
Observer
Cisco gets a pretty big chunk of its revenue from Wall Street. I feel safe in saying that their business will go down in North America now that a few of their biggest customers are out of business. Growth is nice but given the overvaluation of Cisco's shares, it really hasn't mattered much for shareholders the last 4-5 years. Shares will continue to suffer until the secular bear ends.
Clint
NarrowBandBill..you make no sense lad. The Canadian Government has really come to the rescue hasn't it? More layoffs, MEN sold off and Nortel still losing money. They will sell off everything a chunk at a time and they will not survive in the enterprise market. The name will be dead in two years and the Canadian Government could care less. Cisco does not have these kind of problems and are very fortunate in that regard. Macedonian?……isn't mikey Z a macedonian. He's done a real great job at Nortel..lol. You should bitch slap your mother.
Clint
NarrowBandBill..you make no sense lad. The Canadian Government has really come to the rescue hasn't it? More layoffs, MEN sold off and Nortel still losing money. They will sell off everything a chunk at a time and they will not survive in the enterprise market. The name will be dead in two years and the Canadian Government could care less. Cisco does not have these kind of problems and are very fortunate in that regard. Macedonian?……isn't mikey Z a macedonian. He's done a real great job at Nortel..lol. You should bitch slap your mother.
Cisco “Never More Comfortable”
While analysts such as UBS’ Nikos Theodosopoulos lower their revenue expectations for Nortel, Cisco is downright bullish about its growth prospects.
Cisco CEO John Chambers said the company has “never been more comfortable” with its long-term growth goals of 12% to 17%. His bullishness is based on the Internet’s growth and Cisco’s move into new technology markets.
Source: Reuters
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