7/23/2007 -- Cisco Systems Inc. archrival Juniper Networks this month expanded its line of branch office solutions -- and ratcheted up the pressure on Cisco -- by introducing its J2320 and J2350 J-series services routers, its Secure Services Gateway 320M (SSG 320M) and SSG 350M security platforms, two new network management appliances, and Juniper NSMXpress.

One upshot of Juniper's move is that it doesn't leave Cisco -- or other competitors, for that matter -- with a whole lot of breathing room.

"The addition of these new products underscores Juniper Networks' ongoing commitment to designing, developing and delivering best-in-class secure networking technologies for enterprise branch office deployments," said Charlotte Dunlap, a senior analyst for enterprise security with consultancy Current Analysis.

Dunlap sees Juniper's fresh onslaught as particularly well-conceived, especially vis-à-vis competitor Cisco and its ISR line.

"The company is well-equipped to meet the branch office needs of enterprise customers through products which aim to reduce operational overhead by packing more performance and features into the lower end of the company's SSG and J Series of products," Dunlap wrote. "Juniper is squarely targeting Cisco's popular ISR product with a cost-effective branch office router and management solutions that also have the potential to address a number of security concerns as the market demands."

One concern is wireless LAN support, which is currently MIA from Juniper's SSG feature set. Cisco, on the other hand, has already delivered a wireless LAN component of its own.

"Earlier this year Cisco enhanced its branch office offering to include 3G broadband wireless connectivity along with significantly enhanced WLAN scalability for its ISG line," Dunlap pointed out. "Clearly, Juniper faces a daunting competitor from the industry's leading networking and security provider Cisco, which reportedly has an installed base of more than two million ISRs."

As a result, Dunlap concludes, Cisco should be able to make some hay out of Juniper's branch office push.

"Cisco can point to its massive installed base of ISR and other legacy routers as indication of its experience at the branch office, noting that Juniper is coming late to market in this segment," she Dunlap said. "Cisco needs to point out its key differentiators at the branch office, such as its 3G broadband wireless connectivity enhancements made earlier this year. Cisco also can point to its ability to support advanced converged communications capabilities such as IP telephony and application acceleration." --Stephen Swoyer