When Gartner Group published its 2010 whitepaper entitled Debunking the Myth of the Single-Vendor Network, it spurred executives around the world to call their IT organizations to task: Why should our company continue to stay with an all-Cisco network, they asked, when it would be cheaper to move to a multivendor environment?

All too often, IT has had a hard time pushing back. The problem: Cisco can appear more expensive than the competition — at least on the surface. However, the reality is quite different when you dig deeper. Value-assessment studies conducted by the consulting firm Mainstay (also known previously as Salire) at eight U.S. and global customers repeatedly prove that, in almost every case, Cisco Borderless Networks are less expensive to own and operate compared to a mixed environment.

Dealing with Multivendor ChallengesAs you would expect, Hewlett-Packard is the most common challenger to a 100% Cisco network. HP

is famous for aggressively approaching executives with the claim of being significantly cheaper than Cisco. Huawei is a less frequent competitor, but when they enter the race, they can be a formidable low-cost opponent.

Once the competition turns up the heat— and the possibility of losing the account becomes real— there are a number of powerful tools that Cisco can leverage to turn things around. One of the most effective tools is an independent business case and TCO analysis that arms your customer’s IT organization with the hard evidence to prove Cisco’s clear business advantage over any number of competitors.

Why a Mainstay TCO Study Makes SenseHere’s why Cisco account teams should consider a Mainstay Borderless Networks TCO Study:

• Address competitive challenges. The most common result of a Mainstay TCO study is that the customer successfully fends off a competitive challenge and decides to stay with its current Cisco-only strategy. This means the customer continues buying Cisco

Prove why an all-Cisco solution is less expensive than multivendor alternatives.

Push Back Challengers and Win Deals with a Borderless Networks TCO Study

SOluTiON Brief | BuSiNeSS CASe AND TCO ANAlYSiS

for More informationTo learn more about Mainstay’s TCO Analysis offerings, contact Kent@ mainstaycompany.com or visit www.mainstaycompany.com.

Mainstay2929 Campus Dr. Suite 150 San Mateo, CA 94403

www.mainstaycompany.comp. 650.638.0575f. 650.638.0578 sales@mainstaycompany.com

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Almost every Mainstay TCO assessment has proven that Cisco’s Borderless Networks solution is more cost-effective than a mixed environment, especially when the full range of IT and business variables are taken into account.

products, protecting Cisco’s existing footprint and cash flow. Mainstay’s TCO studies helps IT departments put an end to management’s constant requests for justification.

• Win more deals. When a big purchasing decision needs to be made, a Mainstay study can help account teams push the deal over the finish line. Of the eight recent Borderless Network studies, one helped to close a global deal worth more than $13 million.

• Cultivate Cisco champions. In one notable case, a Mainstay Borderless Networks TCO Study turned a major technology outsourcer into an enthusiastic promoter of Cisco solutions to customers worldwide.

What Past Studies Have foundAlmost every Mainstay TCO assessment has proven that Cisco’s Borderless Networks solution is more cost-effective than a mixed environment, especially when the full range of IT and business variables are taken into account. Here’s a selection of what past studies discovered:

• Cisco Borderless Networks help customers realize cost savings across multiple business units and geographies. In contrast to competitive multivendor networks, all-Cisco environments produce annual operating savings from reduced labor costs and energy savings.

• The savings are credible and provable. Mainstay’s studies focus particular attention on savings areas that are easily proved and accepted by customers. These include lower

upfront hardware costs, significant operating savings from Cisco EnergyWise and CleanAir technologies, and labor savings from Cisco’s access layer Auto Configure capability.

• The specifics of a customer’s environment can make a big difference in the results. Cost areas that often give the edge to Cisco include PoE+, MDF/IDF closet HVAC and power upgrades, BYOD or VDI deployments, power management as a service, and the global costs of HP network skilled labor.

• HP’s lifetime warranty is not the same as Cisco’s SMARTnet support. HP never talks about maintenance for their switches because it kills their claims of being cheaper than Cisco. HP’s lifetime warranty is not equivalent to SMARTnet, and the fact that the company sells maintenance contracts on these switches proves it.

Getting Started Is your customer’s IT organization losing the battle against a skeptical executive management? Then a Borderless Networks TCO study could be exactly what’s needed to prove the value of staying with a 100% Cisco Network.

To learn more about Mainstay’s TCO analysis services, contact Kent@mainstaycompany.com or visit www.mainstaycompany.com. We can help you get started by exploring your business needs and qualifying specific customer opportunities. We can even help you find funding for our studies.

Mainstay’s Methodology

To deliver a Borderless Networks TCO analysis, Mainstay typically works with the customer’s IT team, Cisco’s account manager, and various subject matter experts. Our assesment methodology is designed to:

• Understand the customer’s strategic priorities and map them to both the quantifiable and soft benefits of a Cisco Borderless Networks solution.

• Identify cost elements that might typically be overlooked to ensure the full TCO is measured.

• Calculate the full cost and benefits of an upgraded Cisco Borderless Networks solution, including wireless, security, routing, switching, bandwidth optimization, application performance, and network management where applicable.

• Vet our assumptions and inputs with the customer to eliminate any concerns over possible bias and win over skeptics in procurement.

• Include both capital and operating costs of networking equipment over a multiyear period.