Q&A: The Partner Case For More Bare-Metal Switches

Will this hardware shift change networking sales for the channel?

Yes, because as soon as you get into a situation where pretty much anybody has the opportunity to build the best hardware, you end up in a situation where the supply chain to the customer necessarily shifts. We've seen that over and over again. We saw that in servers in the data center space. We see that in laptops, desktops in the campus space and in cellphones. When you look at any of those transitions, it's because the hardware itself is reasonably available and the supply chain is really about getting customers what they need.