I want to advise you that no matter the color of your badge (blue or red), the years of service and or your CPC rating you have decided to violate the Code of Business Conduct. The company in response to a number of requests to share internally what our RFP contained once again is insulted by the lack of respect for the business and "family" internal to Cisco. The person or persons whom felt it was cool or correct to share this internal memo should now have the intestinal fortitude to stand up and admit that they did this, then resign.
 

I want you to remember that Cisco puts the groceries on your table every two weeks, not Brad Reese or other Slander Sheet Journalists. That you disrespected everyone else at Cisco. Now I know you do not have it in you to stand up and admit what you did, so I will now make you my "hobby." Ask around you will find out that I like to work on my hobbies.

Internal Use Only

Team,

Some of your customers may be asking you about the Network World article titled "Country's largest 4-year university expels Cisco, saves $100 million." Although you will not be able to discuss specifics of another customer's network or RFP process with your customer, we wanted you to have some background in case they asked questions.

In summary:

• We responded to the CSU RFP and met or exceeded all technical requirements.
• Cisco has enjoyed and continues to enjoy a strong relationship with CSU and its 23 campuses.
• The alleged cost savings reported in the press are not at all familiar to those with detailed knowledge of the customer and their RFP process.
• We believe they are based on extrapolation of sample configurations and standard pricing, with no consideration of the value inherent in real world TCO, Cisco product capabilities, and Cisco's technical services and support.

We remain in close contact with CSU and continue to work with them on other projects, including the recent win at San Jose State University (SJSU), one of the largest universities in the system. SJSU selected Cisco in a $28M technology enablement project that kicked off in Cisco's Q4, and a number of news articles and blogs were issued that showcase SJSU's partnership with Cisco, focusing on how they are using our technologies to deliver next generation learning on their campus. A sample of press coverage is included below.

Given the nature of the CSU business and the interest that individual campuses in the system have expressed in working with Cisco, we continue to encourage the system and all campuses to leverage state contract purchasing vehicles (WSCA and CMAS) to procure Cisco products and services. The local sales teams also continue to expand their direct relationships with all of the 23 CSU campuses, and are successfully demonstrating the value of a Cisco solution over the commodity offering from other vendors.

Our disappointment at this RFP result and the unfortunate way it has been characterized in the press has only strengthened our resolve to compete vigorously for business from CSU and other similar accounts. For your reference, here are several articles that detail our success at SJSU:

SJSU Launch Articles (focus on Cisco WebEx at SJSU):

SJSU WebEx Portal

SJSU WebEx is Here!

Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal Article (focus on Cisco infrastructure):

San Jose State partners with Cisco on $28M IT infrastructure upgrade

If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please contact Greg Semler or Renee Patton.

Thanks,

Kim and Larry

Cisco contact:

Renee Patton
US Public Sector Director of Education
Strategic Relations Operation