Throwing bricks out of windows

I often get vendors and colleagues coming to me and asking why I standardise my networks on Cisco from the front to the back end.

I hear:

• But "Brand X with added secret sauce" switch is cheaper!
• I don't need all that power;
• What the hell is a VLAN?
• Have I got a deal for you!
• Psst! It's end of quarter and I'll throw these in for you;
• Hey look what I found in the stockroom! A XYZ switch let's plug that in!
• Cisco doesn't have that killer app, whiz bang, disruptive technology feature that you'll kick yourself in ten years time if you don't have it now.
  

However in the face of this questioning and persistence, I hang on like a old dog with a new bone and summarise my reasoning in this one sentence:

"If I throw a brick out the window odds on it's going to hit someone who knows Cisco"

The pool of candidates and suppliers is large enough that the skill set is a non scarce commodity, I will always be able to find someone who has Cisco skills and because of the extra functionality they will be able to maintain them from anywhere in the world.

I also won't have to find the all singing, all dancing network superstar with the brain the size of a planet who can understand the nuances of how multiple vendors kit can play well together.

I can enable the common specialist and allow them to produce uncommon results with greater speed and efficiency at a lower cost.

In a down market I can switch to second-user Cisco gear from authorised dealers and that typically saves me a 3rd off the list price while still maintaining this strategy.

So if your going to make that next big purchase ask yourself,

"If I throw a brick out the window, what are the odds on it's going to hit someone with skill XYZ ?" You could save yourself a lot of time, effort and money.