Will Amazon’s Entry into Hardware Devices Hurt Cisco and Juniper?

Amazon (AMZN) recently announced that it might start selling its own switching devices through its cloud unit, Amazon Web Services (or AWS), which could help shift traffic onto its own servers. Reportedly, by building its own devices, AWS is planning to grab a slice of the $14 billion global market for the equipment. The news of Amazon entering into the equipment market and considering selling its own network switching devices has unnerved rival data networking companies including Cisco Systems (CSCO), Juniper (JNPR), Arista Networks (ANET), and F5 Networks, as AWS could sell its switches at a lower price than the switches from rivals.