WTF is 'deployment phasing'? One reason Cisco revenue just went backwards, is what

Cisco has delivered mixed news to investors after its customers yet again struggled to deploy products they've already acquired. On the upside, Cisco's $12.8 billion of revenue for Q2 2024 was at the high end of its guidance, margins topped expectations, dividends were increased, and the acquisition of Splunk looks set to …

[Pascal Monett]

"probably in excess of 20-plus weeks of inventory"

So they have for at least four more months of stuff to install, and then what ? You think they're just going to start buying again ?

What is wrong with these people ? Companies are going to use the kit they bought, and they'll use it for a while before needing to buy more.

This problem has hardly gone away. Only new installations are going to fuel immediate growth for Cisco, so it had better pray that a wave of datacenters are being built right now, otherwise Cisco will just sit on its hands waiting for new orders.

[Charlie Clark]

Re: "probably in excess of 20-plus weeks of inventory"

Oh, we'll renew before it fails. But if extending hardware lifetimes by a year is okay for Google and Microsoft, it's okay for the rest of us.

What we also want is better interoperability and more competition.

[Anonymous Coward]

if you have cisco equipment still in the box

You should patch it* before you connect it to any of your networks.

* - this goes for every vendor's hardware.

[Vern not Winston Smith]

Color me suprised

During early covid when Cisco's inventory was borked, we held up a number of network projects. Near the end of covid and up to now we have shrunk or closed offices. The few offices we had to upgrade, due lease terms etc, etc, we dropped in wireless gear and very few switches. All of the medium size offices, we no longer have network cabling to each desk. Outside of engineers, most people enjoy the mobility of not having to plug stuff in. This of course happens when they occasionally show up in the office now. I am amazed that cisco did not see this trend. Covid accelerated the trend that was already present. Starting in 2017, the office builds I did for a very large SaaS company, we had to justify pulling cable to each station. At $200/cable drop, you can see where this is going.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Splunk

Is due to be dunked at work. Yay!

[Daedalus]

Oh dear

All these deployment delays have nothing to do with the suits outsourcing everything, so that they have at best skeleton crews on site. Or worse, perhaps, the dress shirt and designer jeans crowd are staring at stacks of boxes while their minions desperately phone around for any kind of help.