Cisco has long been a networking giant, but its attempts to break into supercomputing have been sporadic. According to a new report, that is changing: the company is now in a position to sell many supercomputers and the networks that connect them, a combination that had previously been out of reach.
The shift appears to stem from a more complete portfolio and a clearer go-to-market strategy. By offering both the compute nodes and the high-speed fabric, Cisco can give customers a single vendor to turn to. That simplifies procurement and support, which is attractive for large deployments.
Whether this will let Cisco unseat established supercomputer vendors remains to be seen, but the report suggests the company is finally a serious contender in the space. For buyers, the arrival of a new major supplier could mean more options and potentially better pricing.