Leading bosses not ready to dispose of networking gear

Cisco, which makes network switches, is forcing chief information officers (CIOs) to make some conclusions as it stops selling and supporting some of its most popular products, claims the Wall Street Journal's Rachel King.
But some CIOs are sticking with the older equipment, even in the knowledge that Cisco will no longer support it.
Network switches, which often house built-in illuminated switches, are vital to business networks.
They connect multiple PCs, printers, servers and other hardware, so that you can send information, such as email, and access shared resources, including printers, in a smooth and transparent manner.
In November, Cisco is to stop supporting some of its flagship Catalyst Switch series – the 6503, 6506 and 6509 platforms – made between 1999 and 2003, the Wall Street Journal said.
Its customers have known about this for some time – the firm sent out end-of-life notices in 2005 that the platforms would no longer be sold after November 1st 2006 and the last day of support for the hardware will be November 30th, 2012.
But CIOs are still reluctant to bring in new equipment.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Rohit Mehra, director of enterprise communications infrastructure at IDC, said upgrading switches can be an expensive process.
Tim Clayson, director in AlixPartners LLP's information management services, told the newspaper that not only could it be expensive to upgrade but there are hidden costs of labour and internal configuration and testing work needed to bring new switches online.
"Switches are expensive, new ones may not provide a lot of added value so there's not a great rush to refresh the technology," he said.
However, Stuart Kippelman, vice president and chief information officer of Covanta Energy, said proper lifecycle management was important. His firm has already upgraded to the next Cisco line, Nexus.
"The takeaway should be that lifecycle management is critical," he said.
The Cisco 6500 switch is an Ethernet switch, a segment which will account for $23 billion in sales globally this year, according to IDC forecasts.