The decision to "buy Cisco" usually falls into two categories: purchasing their networking hardware for business operations or investing in their stock. As of 2026, the company has heavily pivoted toward software, security, and artificial intelligence, most notably through its massive acquisition of Splunk . 1. Buying Cisco Products and Hardware

Purchasing Cisco equipment is often about reliability and the "no one ever got fired for buying Cisco" mentality—though competitors like Broadcom and Arista frequently offer more aggressive pricing.