Cisco's About-Face: A Win For Users

In recanting its hard-line support for Microsoft's directory technology at the expense of other directories, Cisco shows once again that vendor marketing agendas can't and won't drive corporate IT decisions.

Until a couple of weeks ago, Cisco backed-on an all-but-exclusive basis-Microsoft's nascent Active Directory, which is both less functional and less flexible than more mature directories.

Cisco had gotten ample feedback that its customers needed support for other directories, notably those of Novell and the Sun-Netscape Alliance. It nonetheless toed the Active Directory line.

In an ironic twist, Cisco's own IT organization adopted a non-Microsoft directory for e-business applications while waiting for Active Directory. Now, Cisco's product organization has finally taken a similarly pragmatic approach, acknowledging that its customers need meaningful choices among proven directories.

Cisco's commitment to multiple directories won't be complete, however, until it details more completely its plans for multivendor support. Is the company fearful of incurring the wrath of partner Microsoft? Or does it fear a public relations fallout?

Its motivation and damage-control efforts aren't important to IT. It's noteworthy that Cisco didn't come clean on its strategy shift in any broad forum; it did so only in response to probing by InternetWeek.

Given Cisco's mishandling of its directory plans, its customers deserve a full accounting of how it will now support Active Directory (a promised Unix version from Cisco has been shelved, for example) and exactly how and when it will support other directories.

For those IT managers reluctant to voice displeasure with a vendor, let this serve as a valuable lesson.

Customer dissatisfaction was the driving force behind a significant strategic shift by Cisco, and it demonstrates the importance of holding your vendors' feet to the fire.

It's unusual for a company of Cisco's managerial savvy to bungle such an important technology strategy, but the vendor deserves some credit for moving to make things right.

Just don't let up the pressure until Cisco details its revised plans and then delivers on them.