Cisco Catalyst Switches IE-Series for Standalone Applications
June 13, 2025
Cisco Catalyst Switches IE-Series for Standalone Applications
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Catalyst Switches
My organization is a Cisco reseller, so we seek customers and design and sell solutions, some of which involve Cisco Catalyst IE-series Industrial Switches. Cisco's products are one of many different products in the same market that we offer, one of the other product series that we offer is Fortinet, and the Rockwell industrial switches. So there is some competition for Cisco regarding how we are going to sell their product.
Pros
- Brand recognition - Reccomending Cisco to a customer is usually a sure bet, they know Cisco's name, and are comfortable applying for budget in order to purchase the product.
- The IE series performs consistently, and it works well on its own. e.g. you don't have to fully buy into the Cisco ecosystem if you just need a piece of hardware to augment an architecture that already exists. Although it is obviously better to go all in on one manufacturer
- The IE series (3300) is a good option to try and sell customers on a product like Cybervision. Because the switch can act as a cybervision sensor, it is a good way to get our foot in the door by just selling them on the sensor and then having the switch be happy side effect of purchasing the product.
Cons
- Initial configuration of Cisco equipment can be cumbersome, and Cisco tech support is not always very helpful because the organization is so monolithic
- The impact is positive, one more product for us to sell
I think Cisco Catalyst Switches works really well when they are implemented singularly to enhance connectivity. When designing an architecture from the ground up, I like to recommend FortiGate because their product is easier to use and when going all in on the Fortinet environment, it is better integrated. This is my opinion at least.
Do you think Cisco Catalyst Switches delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Cisco Catalyst Switches's feature set?
Yes
Did Cisco Catalyst Switches live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Cisco Catalyst Switches go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Cisco Catalyst Switches again?
Yes
Comments
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