Idiot-proof it, Cisco!

And while we’re on the topic of Cisco, I have to say I find Linksys unbearably tedious!

If Linksys has to cross the chasm, it’d better pay a lot of attention to usability.

In 2003, Linksys had 30-40%% of the SOHO networking market, followed by NetGear, D-Link, Belkin, et. al. That’s when Cisco acquired it for $500 Million.

Two years later, Cisco has added more “stuff” to the SOHO portfolio, including VoIP technology from the Sipura acquisition.

Breadth keeps expanding. But what about coverage?

Linksys could get so much further with their core offerings alone, if they invested in making the products usable …

And this issue is going to come back to bite them if they don’t pay attention now, because their India strategy will need a super idiot-proof offering. It is going to be a very large SME / SOHO based growth opportunity, under fierce price pressures.

John Chambers, please go sit at Jobs’ feet for a while …