Cisco SAN Sales: Ramping Hard?

Wall Street analysts say Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) looks to be on track to turn in strong sales figures for its SAN switches in its current quarter -- potentially more than doubling its quarter-over-quarter sales in the segment.

Robert Montague, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, says the Fibre Channel switch market has become extremely competitive now that Cisco's products are shipping through various channels. He says his industry sources point to Cisco posting sales of SAN switches in the mid-$20 million range for its fiscal fourth quarter of 2003, which ends in late July.

"I think it will turn some heads," he says. "Our sources indicate it's mostly high-end business where they're winning against McData directors or the Brocade [SilkWorm] 12000."

For the previous quarter, which ended April 26, Cisco said it brought in almost $10 million in orders from around 40 customers. At the time, CEO John Chambers said that the company is shooting to double sales of its Fibre Channel switches over the next few quarters (see Cisco Reports $10M SAN Sales).

Laura Conigliaro, managing director at Goldman Sachs & Co., says she's also seen evidence that Cisco's SAN switch sales have been gaining momentum, but she adds she doesn't have "specifics sufficient enough to nail it down."