Giancarlo Reaction

Posted by Eric Krapf | Dec 21, 2007

Here's how an executive at a Cisco competitor reacted to the news of Charlie Giancarlo's departure from Cisco:

* An Avaya coup. Cisco has been eating Avaya’s lunch for years. I suspect that one of Giancarlo’s first jobs will be to help figure out how to compete more effectively with Cisco and make Silver Lake’s investment in Avaya pay off. It will be an uphill battle.

* Cisco loses a UC visionary. Chambers was quoted as saying that it “wasn’t the right time to lose [Charlie].” Giancarlo led Cisco’s effort into the SME market and in the development of their UC product group. His departure may stall Cisco’s success in that market.

* Cisco management in flux. The Chamber succession plan becomes murkier still. The company is full of smart execs, but the accompanying management model transition from “command and control” to “teamwork and collaboration” as defined with their new “Development Council” will be very difficult for Cisco to pull off – it runs counter to their DNA. Could make it even more difficult for channel partners and customers to do business with Cisco and to understand what is happening and who’s in charge.

Obviously, that's a(n anonymous) competitor talking (via email to me). But I think Chambers' comment about the timing of Giancarlo's departure is noteworthy. It is a significant loss, and it comes just when Cisco faces the major challenge of Microsoft's entry into the UC market. But it's also mitigated by, as my correspondent notes, the quality of the team that remains in place. Don Proctor, who's been tapped to head the new organization's Software Group (which includes UC, collaboration and SaaS), is first-rate; he led the organization that took Cisco to the top of the market, as discussed in the post below, and helped set the stage for the UC battle.