10/1/2007 -- Cisco Systems Inc. last week announced a bevy of new remote office products, starting with a branch-friendly version of its Integrated Services Router (ISR) entry -- the new ISR 1861 -- a lightweight series of Catalyst 2960 Switches (complete with Cisco's LAN Lite IOS Software) and, significantly, the availability of 802.11n WLAN Controller support for the ISR.

Analysts are upbeat about Cisco's branch office bonanza, which they say addresses clear corporate pain points. At the same time, they caution, Cisco's new branch office deliverables are far from market-changers.

"These products broaden Cisco's potential in the enterprise branch market but are not in of themselves giant leaps," said Steven Schuchart, principal analyst for enterprise network systems. "These new products will intrigue new customers but will not necessarily be prime motivators for new sales."

Not that Cisco is any stranger to the enterprise branch, of course. The market is already an established (and highly competitive) player in this segment, according to Schuchart. "Cisco has been focusing on the enterprise branch for some time and the 2960 with LAN Lite and 1861 ISR in particular give customers more choices for smaller branch offices. These products also give Cisco a good play for the small and medium enterprise market," he said.

Schuchart also singles out the availability of 802.11n support on Cisco's Wireless LAN Controller module for the ISR, which he expects will help placate existing customers as well as attract new ones.

He cautions, however, that most customers have adopted a wait-and-see comportment with respect to 802.11n -- so the new high-speed WLAN Controller module probably won't be an enormous hit.

"This fleshes out the 802.11n strategy and product line announced earlier this month and gives customers who need the raw speed of an n-based solution the option of adding it to the ISR," he said. "Cisco has been leading the market with modular on-router wireless. Cisco's customers can pick from any number of modular options for many ISR models that allow customers to tailor the products to their needs, as opposed to the all-in-one options offered by many of their competitors."

However, Schuchart thinks Cisco's LAN Lite IOS could cause confusion in the marketplace. "[M]any customers may be put off or confused by the LAN Lite version of software available on the 2960 series of switches," he said. "Cisco has always offered limited and full feature versions of its software and adding another version may simply confuse potential customers, especially considering competitors generally only offer a single full featured software version while still being price-competitive." --Stephen Swoyer