Cisco Systems has long stood as a pillar of the global networking and communications industry. Today, it generates over $55.6 billion in annual revenue, operates in more than 115 countries, and maintains a massive customer base that includes nearly 98% of Fortune 500 companies.
At its core, Cisco leads multiple critical sectors. It holds more than 35% of the global Ethernet switching market and nearly 40% of the enterprise routing segment. The company also maintains strong double-digit market shares in cybersecurity, data center interconnects, and unified collaboration tools. [1]
Plus, its cloud-managed platform, Cisco Meraki, along with secure access solutions like Duo Security and Umbrella, has gained widespread traction, especially among cloud-first enterprises.
However, despite this dominance, Cisco is facing rising pressure on multiple fronts. I’ve featured Cisco’s most formidable competitors, analyzing their business models, technological advantages, and market positioning.
These rivals are capitalizing on trends like zero-trust security, AI-powered observability, and multi-cloud connectivity — areas where Cisco must move quickly or risk losing ground.
Did you know?Cisco has acquired more than 253 companies since its founding. Its largest deal to date is the $28 billion acquisition of Splunk, announced in 2023.
Table of Contents
17. Netgear
Founded: 1996Revenue: $671 million
Core Rivalry: SMB networking and Wi-Fi
Competitive Edge: Strong Consumer Brand, App-based configuration
Netgear develops consumer-grade and SMB networking equipment, with a strong focus on Wi-Fi routers, mesh systems, network switches, NAS devices, and smart home security solutions.
It distinguished itself from enterprise-oriented competitors like Cisco by focusing on affordability, plug-and-play usability, and mass-market appeal. [2]
The company serves millions of households and small businesses in over 25 countries, and has developed a broad product lineup under flagship brands like Nighthawk (performance routers), Orbi (mesh Wi-Fi), and Insight (SMB management).
While Cisco’s Meraki and Catalyst products are built for IT teams managing large campus or branch environments, Netgear serves non-technical users and SMBs who need Wi-Fi and switching that “just works” out of the box.
16. Lumen Technologies
Founded: 1968Revenue: $13.1 billion
Core Rivalry: Enterprise networking & cloud connectivity solutions
Competitive Edge: Global fiber reach, Government contracts & secure services
Lumen Technologies (formerly known as CenturyLink) serves as a key backbone of the global internet, operating one of the largest fiber networks in the world, spanning over 400,000 route miles.
The company has pivoted from traditional telecom to a focus on the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” where edge computing, AI, IoT, and cybersecurity converge.
Unlike traditional telcos, Lumen has made early investments in edge compute nodes across North America, enabling sub-5ms latency processing near major population centers. Its threat research unit analyzes over 200 billion NetFlow sessions daily and identifies botnets, malware, and DDoS activity, giving customers a real-time threat defense advantage.
Lumen supports classified networks, mission-critical data transport, and cybersecurity compliance, giving it a unique edge in the public sector. It also collaborates with major cloud and data center providers. The company has secured over $8 billion in contracts with Google, Microsoft, AWS, and Meta to build private connectivity fabrics. [3]
15. Ubiquiti
Revenue: $2.32 billion
Core Rivalry: SMB and prosumer networking
Competitive Edge: Elegant hardware design, Unified platform experience
Founded by Robert Pera (a former Apple engineer), Ubiquiti has grown into a billion-dollar disruptive force in networking hardware, challenging incumbents like Cisco and Netgear.
The company first gained traction with its UniFi product line, targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and tech-savvy users who needed enterprise-grade Wi-Fi at affordable prices.
Today, Ubiquiti offers a broad portfolio covering Wi-Fi 6/7 access points, routers, switches, firewalls, video surveillance systems, VoIP, and smart home gear, mostly under the UniFi and AmpliFi brands. UniFi holds nearly 20% of the SMB networking market (up from 12% in 2022), displacing rivals like Meraki in flexible deployments
Its EdgeMax, AirMax, and LTU lines serve the fixed wireless internet service provider (WISP) market, making Ubiquiti a key enabler of rural and last-mile broadband connectivity globally.
A key driver of Ubiquiti’s growth is its radically lean operating model: the company avoids large sales teams or traditional marketing. Instead, it leverages online community forums, word-of-mouth advocacy, and viral product releases. [4]
14. Ciena Corporation
Revenue: $4.26 billion
Core Rivalry: Optical networking, backbone transport
Competitive Edge: Blue Planet Software, Diversified customer base
Ciena Corporation is a global leader in optical networking and next-generation telecom infrastructure. It powers the backbone networks of major telecom operators, hyperscalers like Google and Microsoft, and global enterprises needing scalable and secure data movement.
It is also a key player in the automation and software-defined networking (SDN) space. Its Blue Planet software suite enables real-time orchestration, network virtualization, and intent-based management across multi-vendor, multi-domain environments.
This positions Ciena as a forward-thinking technology vendor in the era of autonomous, cloud-native networks.
While Cisco has optical products (especially through acquisitions like Acacia), it does not match Ciena’s deep experience in coherent optics, submarine systems, and carrier-scale backbone networking.
Cisco competes with Ciena in metro and aggregation routing, especially in areas like mobile backhaul and 5G transport. However, Ciena often holds an advantage in data-intensive and latency-sensitive applications due to its optical-packet convergence and superior bandwidth efficiency.
Ciena employs 3,800+ R&D specialists and holds more than 2,200 patents, driving innovation in next-generation coherent optics (WaveLogic 6 Extreme), converged packet-optical platforms, and AI-powered network automation.
13. Nokia Networks
Founded: 2007Revenue: $20.3 billion
Core Rivalry: Carrier and service provider routing
Competitive Edge: Complete 5G solution, Deep carrier relationships
Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Nokia Networks is the operational core of Nokia’s B2B business. It plays a major role in enabling global telecom carriers, enterprises, and governments to deliver high-speed, secure, and scalable communications infrastructure.
Nokia Networks provides end-to-end solutions for 4G, 5G, cloud RAN, transport, private wireless, and core network services. Its technology powers networks for more than 1,000 operators worldwide, including some of the largest carriers in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Nokia has strengthened its 5G partnerships in the U.S., including with T-Mobile. With 890 industrial deployments globally and recognition as the sole Champion in Omdia’s 2025 Private 5G Market Radar, Nokia leads in industrial private wireless, enhanced by integrated edge AI capabilities. [5]
While Cisco is moving toward cloud-managed infrastructure and software subscriptions (e.g., Meraki, ThousandEyes, Duo), Nokia focuses on physical infrastructure buildouts, 5G modernization, and carrier cloud transformation.
12. ZTE Corporation
Founded: 1985Revenue: $17.14 billion
Core Rivalry: Telecom networking
Competitive Edge: End-to-end 5G infrastructure, China government support
ZTE is one of China’s largest tech giants that provides telecommunications equipment and network solutions, playing a major role in advancing 4G, 5G, and broadband infrastructure worldwide.
The company is recognized for its involvement in 5G network build-outs, making significant contributions to both the radio access network (RAN) and core infrastructure. It offers an end-to-end 5G architecture, encompassing wireless, transport, access, and cloud core systems.
ZTE invests heavily in edge computing, AI-based network management, and cloud services, pushing it beyond hardware into the realm of integrated digital ecosystems. It holds more than 44,000 granted patents, including thousands related to 5G, AI, and SDN.
Geopolitically, Cisco benefits from its deep integration with Western enterprises and governments, whereas ZTE has a stronger presence in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America — regions where price sensitivity and infrastructure scale are crucial
11. Check Point Software
Revenue: $2.6 billion
Core Rivalry: Enterprise firewalls, security gateways
Competitive Edge: Security-first legacy & reputation, Operational excellence
Founded by Gil Shwed, a tech visionary who helped define the concept of a stateful inspection firewall, Check Point has evolved into a comprehensive cybersecurity vendor, offering solutions for network, cloud, endpoint, mobile, IoT, and email protection, along with advanced threat prevention and security management. =
Its product strategy centers on three core pillars: Quantum (network security), CloudGuard (cloud-native security), and Harmony (endpoint and user protection).
Despite intense competition from companies like Cisco and Palo Alto Networks, Check Point retains a loyal enterprise customer base. It is especially strong in regulated sectors such as financial services, education, healthcare, and government, thanks to its reputation for stability, strong security efficacy, and policy granularity.
Today, Check Point protects over 100,000 businesses worldwide with its Infinity Platform, which spans cloud, endpoint, mobile, network, and threat intelligence layers.
It stands out as one of the few major cybersecurity vendors with consistent profitability and no major debt. Plus, the company maintains a net profit margin of over 30%. With projected annual revenue growth of 5-8%, it offers greater financial stability compared to many high-growth peers. [6]
10. HPE Juniper Networks
Founded: 1996Revenue: $5.2 billion
Core Rivalry: Routing, AI-driven network automation
Competitive Edge: AI‑Native Networking, Simplicity, and Openness
HPE Juniper Networks provides high-performance networking solutions, focusing on routing, switching, security, and AI-powered network automation.
In recent years, the company has heavily invested in AI-based network automation, leveraging its Mist AI platform. This platform allows organizations to proactively monitor, optimize, and troubleshoot wired and wireless networks.
The AI boost helped fuel 23–25 % growth in recurring software revenue and positioned Juniper as top-tier in AI-driven network automation. In FY 2025, Juniper’s revenue reached $5.2 billion, with software and services comprising about 26% of that total.
Its diverse customer base includes global telecommunications providers, Fortune 500 enterprises, hyperscalers, and public sector organizations. While it may not match Cisco in scale or breadth, Juniper has earned a loyal following due to its engineering quality, software-driven innovation, and focus on automation and simplicity.
From a customer strategy perspective, Cisco appeals to large enterprise IT buyers through bundled packages and enterprise licensing agreements, whereas Juniper appeals more to technically advanced teams that want more control, openness, and cloud-driven flexibility.
In July 2025, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) acquired Juniper Networks for approximately $14 billion. [7]
9. F5 Networks
Revenue: $2.94 billion
Core Rivalry: Application delivery and network security
Competitive Edge: End-to-end application protection, DevOps & Container-native tools
F5 initially built its reputation on hardware-based application delivery controllers (ADCs). However, it has reinvented itself through a mix of R&D and strategic acquisitions.
Key examples include NGINX (acquired in 2019) to enhance open-source and container-based application delivery, Shape Security (2020) for AI-powered fraud and bot protection, and Volterra (2021) to strengthen its capabilities in edge computing and distributed application management.
F5 is laser-focused on applications: its BIG-IP and NGINX offerings provide much more granular control over traffic routing, SSL offload, WAF, and API protection than Cisco’s broader network appliances.
F5’s edge with bot mitigation and fraud prevention (via Shape) further cements its position in application-layer security, an area Cisco does not dominate. [8]
Plus, F5 appeals more to DevOps and AppSec teams through NGINX and Kubernetes-native integrations, while Cisco tools are often geared toward NetOps and SecOps.
8. VMware
Founded: 1998Parent: Broadcom
Core Rivalry: Network virtualization, SDN
Competitive Edge: Virtualization dominance, Unified multi-cloud platform
VMware pioneered the concept of x86 server virtualization, enabling multiple operating systems and applications to run on a single physical server. This breakthrough significantly improved resource utilization, reduced costs, and laid the foundation for cloud computing as we know it today.
Over time, VMware extended its platform to include software-defined data centers (SDDC), covering compute, storage (vSAN), and networking (NSX). The company also branched into end-user computing (Horizon, Workspace ONE), hybrid cloud, and Kubernetes orchestration (Tanzu).
VMware NSX, a software-defined networking solution, leads the market with nearly 65% share and is deployed by 90 of the Fortune 100 companies. In contrast, Cisco’s ACI, which is more hardware-centric, tends to be more complex and capital-intensive.
In 2023, VMware was acquired by Broadcom in a $69 billion deal. That same year, VMware reported $13.35 billion in revenue, including $4.01 billion from subscription and SaaS, a 25% YoY increase. [9][10]
7. Fortinet
Revenue: $6.14 billion+
Core Rivalry: Security appliances, SD-WAN
Competitive Edge: Unified Security Fabric, In-House ASICs (SPUs)
Fortinet is one of the world’s largest cybersecurity vendors by revenue, serving over 860,000 customers globally.
Its unique advantage lies in its Security Fabric architecture, which integrates all its products (whether in hardware, software, or virtual form) under a unified, automated platform. This integration delivers end-to-end protection and threat visibility that’s extremely attractive to overburdened IT teams.
Unlike some rivals who rely on third-party or acquired technologies, Fortinet develops most of its security ASICs (custom chips), operating system (FortiOS), and security services in-house. This results in superior performance, lower latency, and strong cost efficiency.
While Cisco remains the leader in large-scale campus and enterprise switching, Fortinet’s secure switching (FortiSwitch) and wireless solutions (FortiAP) offer a cost-effective, security-focused alternative, particularly well-suited for mid-sized enterprises and retail branches.
As the demand for XDR and zero-trust architectures continues to grow, Fortinet has emerged as a serious challenger to Cisco, not only in perimeter defense but also in cloud, IoT, edge, and OT security markets.
In 2025, Fortinet was named Google Cloud Technology Partner of the Year, integrating FortiGate VM and FortiSASE with Google’s infrastructure. The company was also recognized as a leader in IT/OT cybersecurity in the 2025 Westlands Advisory report. [11][12]
6. Palo Alto Networks
Revenue: $8.87 billion
Core Rivalry: Network and cloud security
Competitive Edge: Threat intelligence via WildFire, Strong R&D & Acquisition Strategy
Palo Alto Networks is one of the world’s leading cybersecurity companies, widely recognized for its innovation across next-generation firewalls, cloud-native security, and AI-powered threat detection.
The company disrupted the market early with its stateful, application-aware firewalls, which introduced Layer 7 visibility and control into enterprise perimeter defenses. Over time, it continued to push boundaries with offerings like PAN-OS, App-ID, User-ID, and Content-ID, redefining how organizations inspect and control traffic.
They have numerous acquisition, including Demisto (SOAR), Twistlock (container security), Prisma (cloud security suite), and Expanse (attack surface management), which helped the company become a leader in cloud-native application protection platforms (CNAPP), extended detection and response (XDR), and secure access service edge (SASE).
Today, Palo Alto Networks serves over 85,000+ enterprise customers across 150+ countries and competes with major vendors like Cisco and Fortinet. In FY 2025, the company generated $8.87 billion in revenue, with double-digit growth across its cloud, network, and security operations segments. [13]
5. Extreme Networks
Revenue: 1 billion+
Core Rivalry: Campus and cloud-managed networking
Competitive Edge: Unified fabric-managed network, Industry-specific solutions
Extreme Networks has strategically progressed by acquiring legacy networking assets from companies like Enterasys (2013), Zebra’s wireless LAN business (2016), Avaya’s networking division (2017), and parts of Brocade (2017).
These acquisitions gave Extreme Networks access to a large customer base, an extended switching and wireless portfolio, and intellectual property critical to strengthening its R&D and market footprint.
The company differentiates itself with its ExtremeCloud IQ platform, a fully cloud-native, AI-powered network management solution. This platform enables organizations to manage their wired, wireless, and SD-WAN infrastructure from a centralized interface, leveraging telemetry and AI to optimize performance, security, and automation.
Extreme leverages AI/ML across telemetry, device monitoring, and network automation to reduce mean time to resolution (MTTR), predict outages, and improve user experience. It is especially strong in education, healthcare, retail, and stadium/venue deployments, where its cloud-native simplicity and flexible licensing are a key advantage.
In 2025, the company introduced Extreme Platform ONE, a unified solution that integrates networking, security, and generative AI agents. It significantly reduces operational tasks, cutting them down from hours to minutes.
4. Dell Technologies
InfiniBand and Ethernet switches for Al workloads
Revenue: 96.7 billion+ (for the whole company)
Core Rivalry: Data center switching
Competitive Edge: APEX as-a-service model, VMware integration legacy
Dell aggressively expanded into enterprise IT infrastructure, culminating in its $67 billion acquisition of EMC Corporation in 2016, which was the largest tech deal in history at the time.
This acquisition brought Dell a dominant position in enterprise storage (EMC), virtualization and cloud infrastructure (VMware), data protection (RSA, since divested), and hyperconverged infrastructure (VxRail, via a joint venture with VMware).
In recent years, the company has further pivoted toward as-a-service models (through Dell APEX), edge computing, and multi-cloud solutions.
Its networking solutions, although not as dominant as Cisco’s, include data center and campus switches under the S-Series and N-Series, designed for enterprise networks and service provider backbones.
In compute and storage segment, Dell is a dominant leader. Its PowerEdge servers and PowerStore/PowerMax storage arrays are deployed across thousands of enterprises and data centers. Cisco offers UCS (Unified Computing System) for servers, but it holds a significantly smaller share of the global server market compared to Dell.
In FY 2025, Dell’s Infrastructure Solutions Group (that covers servers, storage, and networking) made $43.6 billion in revenue, up 29% year over year. [14]
3. Huawei Technologies
R&D Professionals: 113,000+
Core Rivalry: telecom networking
Competitive Edge: Cost-effective & customizable hardware, Dominant in Asia
Huawei started as a small reseller of private branch exchange (PBX) switches and quickly evolved into a global telecom infrastructure powerhouse, disrupting legacy players like Ericsson, Nokia, and Cisco in several markets.
Over the decades, the company developed a vertically integrated model, designing its own chips (via HiSilicon), building proprietary networking equipment, and providing end-to-end solutions to telecom carriers and enterprises.
They also entered the enterprise networking space, offering switches, routers, WLAN products, data center solutions, and security appliances. By the 2010s, Huawei had become a formidable rival to Cisco, especially in government, education, and telecom environments across developing countries.
Despite facing growing scrutiny and geopolitical restrictions (especially from the US and several Western nations), Huawei has doubled down on R&D and expansion into cloud and 5G infrastructure.
The company allocates more than 20% of its revenue to research and development, employing approximately 113,000 R&D professionals (about 54% of its total workforce) and holding over 150,000 patents.
2. HPE Aruba Networks
HPE Cray XD2000
Employees: 6000+
Core Rivalry: Campus networking, wireless LAN
Competitive Edge: Wi-Fi 6/6E, Security Integration
HPE Aruba is best known for its AI-powered Aruba Central cloud platform, which provides unified management across wired, wireless, and WAN infrastructure. It supports features like network automation, AI-based anomaly detection, and policy enforcement, which align with modern IT needs in hybrid and remote work environments.
Aruba Networks was acquired by Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) in 2015 for approximately $3 billion. Under the broader HPE umbrella, Aruba continued to innovate in wireless, switching, and SD-Branch technologies, while also expanding into security and cloud-based network management.
Aruba has consistently led the enterprise WLAN space: it earned the #1 slot in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Wired & Wireless LAN for the 18th consecutive year in 2024. Industry analysts also rate it a leader in SD‑WAN/SASE, with recognition in both Gartner and IDC evaluations. [15][16]
From a security standpoint, Aruba’s ClearPass NAC (Network Access Control) is one of the most mature solutions on the market, often preferred for granular access policies and multi-vendor interoperability. Cisco competes with its ISE (Identity Services Engine), but ClearPass is seen as easier to deploy and more flexible, particularly in BYOD-heavy environments.
1. Arista Networks
Revenue: $7.43 billion
Core Rivalry: Data center switches and cloud-scale networking
Competitive Edge: Extensible Operating System, High-Speed Ethernet Leadership
Founded by industry veterans, including Andy Bechtolsheim (co-founder of Sun Microsystems), Arista Networks has carved out a unique space by focusing on cloud-scale networking, primarily targeting hyperscalers, high-frequency trading firms, and large enterprises.
The company rose to prominence by offering switches that provided not just blazing throughput but also programmability, deterministic performance, and scalability.
In 2014, Arista launched an IPO on the NYSE, becoming one of Cisco’s most formidable challengers in the data center switching market. Unlike traditional vendors burdened by broad product lines, Arista focused singularly on performance, openness, and software quality, which attracted bigger clients like Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, and Google.
What sets Arista apart is its proprietary network operating system, EOS (Extensible Operating System). It’s a Linux-based, modular software platform known for its stability, automation capabilities, and continuous integration model.
With EOS, Arista enabled network engineers to deploy, monitor, and scale cloud networks programmatically, creating strong appeal among DevOps and NetOps teams alike.
2024 was a landmark year for the company, with revenue surpassing $7 billion, a 19.5% increase over 2023. Net income reached $2.85 billion, reflecting a strong net margin of 41%.
Today, the company holds roughly 43% of the high-speed Ethernet port market and serves 10,000+ customers worldwide. [17]
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- Emily Bary, Lumen reveals latest numbers around AI deals, MarketWatch
- Ubiquiti, An unsustainable cost-effective strategy amidst intense competition, Seeking Alpha
- Press Release, Nokia is the sole company recognized as a Champion, Nokia
- Form 20F, Check Point Technologies earnings and profit, SEC
- Newsroom, HPE closes acquisition of Juniper Networks, HPE
- Shape Security, SAFE—Shape AI Fraud Engine, F5
- Financial News, Broadcom completes acquisition of VMware, Broadcom
- Financial Results, Annual Review of VMware, VMblog
- Investor Relations, Fortinet wins 2025 Google Cloud Technology Partner of the Year award, Fortinet
- Westlands Advisory Report, Fortinet is the leader in the IT/OT Network Protection Platform Navigator, Fortinet
- Rich Campagna, A leader in Forrester Enterprise Firewall Solutions Wave, Palo Alto Networks
- Press Release Details, Dell Technologies delivers Q4 and FY 2025 financial results, Dell
- HPE Aruba Networking, Leader for 18th Consecutive time in 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant, GuruFocus
- Newsroom, HPE awards and recognition, HPE
- Arista Networks, 27.6% revenue growth amid AI networking expansion, Investing.com
