Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

Competition is hiring and growing yet Cisco is in hire freeze and is known to lay off in one quarter then rehire cheaper folks later on.

Facts are the massive decline in moral, product reliability, coupled with bad leadership, and the sole focus on margins over delivering quality will never end well for any company.

The lack of executive security sales leadership is a significant factor in the decline of security sales. Several years ago, security was growing double digits. Not until the current executive leadership, did the decline start. The decline in security sales has accelerated with each decision made by SB. She has no idea how to run a global security sales business. Her and VW, CGS, and MK have done more damage to security sales with their decisions than the competition could have ever done. The competition is using their ineptness and processes to further distant themselves from Cisco security. Just look at the numbers since these 4 have come into their roles.

@3abl+1g0FH9S5 you must be from the BU and are trying to blame sales when your terrible products don’t sell.

Every vendor has issues with their products even in cybersecurity. The big difference is the security competitors have real executive leaders that know how to set a sales vision and strategy, then execute on that. The security competitors executive leadership takes care of their sellers, especially if they make a big mistake on sellers compensation. Real executives own it.

The field deserves real executive leadership. The four mentioned in other posts on this thread are not leaders. They are simply not capable of leading at the level they are at. They do not have the authenticity needed to actually lead people. These four cannot even acknowledge the mistake they made that is impacting the field’s pay. Instead, these four deflect, ignore, hide, and blame everyone else.

Why is there never any hate for S/J/SBG here? Sure, GSSO needs to get its sh-t together, but it’ll still be trying to sell the same tu-d products.

The Global VP of Sales, Global VP of Engineering, Americas VP of Sales, America Engineering Director were probably good people managers. Unfortunately, not one of them has demonstrated the leadership needed for their respective positions.

When your people are not making money and there is not communication or acknowledgment that they did the people wrong in 1H, and they try to smooth it over with this Gold Rush, which no one has been paid on yet, that is a lack of transparency, accountability, and leadership.

Their lack of leadership has directly contributed to the dismal growth while the competition grows by significant double digits and have left Cisco in the dust. Their lack of leadership has directly contributed to significant decaying morale.

They are driven by the the direct team way of doing things and it simply does not work in security. For evidence, see the last several quarters earning announcements. This network driven approach to selling security is why the industry does not recognize Cisco as a true security company. This is a significant contributing factor to the dismal growth and why Cisco is falling further behind the competitors. It has accelerated with these 4 being in their respective positions.

In security, customers want same TSA for that relationship, not a potential different TSA on each opportunity. Customers want same across multiple opportunities. This is where C2E and Agile TSA breakdown for customers and why they don’t want it.

FYI - We are hiring at PAN. We are not freezing reqs. We are growing. We do not make you take PTO cause the numbers are so bad. We have real security conversations with customers. We are allowed to do our job with extra processes that prohibit sales. We don’t have to get the blessing of someone else to go have a security conversation.

@1ykx+1g0FH9S5 earnings isn’t until may I hope they don’t make you wait that long

We still have not been paid for our 1H. It will not be paid out completely until most likely May or June since they are struggling with the data. Are you kidding me.

And of course, there is no acknowledgement from our so called executive leaders, SB and VW, that we still have not been paid or what is being done to rectify this issue.

Again? Really? Ask yourself: why am I so obsessed about the past? Move on. High School popularity contests were over long ago. Not healthy to carry baggage, over nothing.

It is correct C2E (click-to-expert) is the tool used to find a TSA. Yes you can get the same TSA unless they hit 100% or more utilization and then they don't show available to select. That number is totally subjective because you can't say 15 active opps is the limit as the real number might be 10 or 25....at times that 200K deal takes longer than a 2M deal. The real issue with C2E and tagging a TSA to an opportunity is 50%(just my guess) of the time the TSA isn't working just on that opp, he/she is building rapport, finding pain points, showing migration options, removing risk in the customers eyes, etc. In the perfect world the PSS should have as much or more technical knowledge on the architecture as the SE on the account. In the real world most of the PSSs see themselves(and their management) as AM for that architecture. That is why C2E will fail in its current form....if you have the TSA engaged only after the opportunity has been defined who is finding and developing this into a real opportunity....that should be the PSS....not another AM.

Having moved from Cisco to a security competitor....it is telling that our top 5 security competition focus does not include Cisco.... anyone else see this?

You really need a new hobby, bro.

You clearly don't understand the Agile TSA model (which is not the same as C2E, which is just the tool). In Agile TSA, customers have the same TSA through the lifecycle of opportunity and it is not virtual only. Being that the account team chooses which TSA to engage by name, the only reason a different person was engaged every time would be because the account team chose to do so.

Sorry, but none of this is the reason nor the real problems going forward. Cisco Security technology is mostly last-gen and not well-suited for enterprise. Your sales leaders don't really matter, when your product is an embarrassment.

Why do you care, you are now with the competition? Everyone knows other companies have been eating their lunch for a long time.