Cisco's underlying flaw after the tech bust in 2000 was that its strategy was simply to put more products into the account managers' sales bag. The products were often not related to one another, and they certainly didn't integrate together. They had multiple operating systems and multiple management platforms.
There was no one considering the complexity being created for the customer base because decisions were being made by former sales guys who just wanted more stuff for the sales teams to sell. Customers revolted and started Software Defined Networking (SDN) as an alternative to the Cisco Frankenstein portfolio.
Cisco's portfolio is now impossible to integrate given the divergence of R&D investments that have been made for decades. Given the commoditization of networking technology, it's too expensive to attempt to converge the networking portfolio. This is why Robbins has been so focused on attempting to create a software business that isn't tied to Cisco's legacy networking business.
It's still up in the air as to whether Cisco can make this transition. The reality is that the legacy networking business is going to undergo massive restructuring as the focus shifts to the independent software business. Current employees won't recognize the company in 5 years.
An excellent point, @cvk+1upjUU9k.