Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

I worked in or around the security teams at Cisco for 15 years. I’d left before the current incumbents arrived, though they seem to continue the trend that Cisco have had in both Security Engineering and Sales. That trend is one of not being able to hire or retain leading security executives. On Sales side Prior to Chris Young they’d burned through the execs from Ironport . Young was poached after forming GSSO. They couldn’t find anyone to take on the European Leader role for almost a year as DJ also walked out and JM was rapidly pushed up the pecking order. So the good ones left and the others weren’t great. Engineering was pretty much the same, DU was hell bent on DNS being all security, JR tried but it’s not switching etc etc.

They need to focus on getting a real Security expert with a strong track record, then back then, and not use it as a sideways move for failing or aspiring VP’s. Cybersecurity is not the training ground that Cisco have used it for in the past. I think it’s too late though, Cisco is toxic and the Cisco Security brand more so.

Now that Shelly is in charge and has broken through the glass ceiling as she likes to say on a regular basis, you all can expect security growth to go down to single digits while the security competition continues to grow and hire talent. You could have had Mickey Mouse there and it would have grown more than 10%. I guarantee the security growth goes down in Q3. She has never been a sales leader and it is already showing. Her calls are awful, nothing more than incomplete thoughts, and her saying the appropriate buzz words to come off as a sales leader. She literally regurgitates the words of Chuck, Geetu, and Gee.

10% of $750 million is just a mere $75 million. That's equivalent to the bonus paid to Chuck, MM and Fran each year.

it's easy to manipulate security sales numbers with bundling. what are the real numbers?