Cisco Leads CIO Networking Survey as Spending Intentions Cool

Cisco ranked as the leading networking choice in Morgan Stanley’s third-quarter CIO survey, even as net vendor and data-center spending intentions fell from earlier readings.

The net measure for vendor outlays came in at +28%, compared with +57% in the prior reading. Planned data-center purchases registered +37%, versus +55%. The figures cover intentions rather than completed orders or realized spending.

Several other indicators moved in opposite directions. Campus upgrade intentions increased to +36% from +33%, while Cisco’s retention measure slipped to 63% from 68%.

Plans for network-security spending declined to +70% from +85%. Respondents’ intentions to purchase Cisco security products also fell, to 47% from 57%.

Project delays affected 13% of respondents, up from 2% in the preceding quarter. Eighty-three percent said equipment prices had risen between 1% and 10%, and 40% said further increases would lead them to delay purchases.