Cisco Fans Eager to See IT Recovery

Network integration and management is a competitive field with notoriously low margins, and it has grown more crowded as big tech shops like Lucent and Avaya (AV Quote) have made it a priority.

Still, observers say tight information technology budgets and reluctant hiring have overtaxed many companies' tech departments. These customers need to turn to outside help, and that could help Cisco go beyond products and into integration.

The only problem is that could hurt Cisco's margins, says money manager Whitman, and "Wall Street isn't prepared for that."