Cisco vs Juniper: Why Juniper is a Good Option

When choosing an IT networking solution, you will inevitably choose between Juniper and Cisco. While there may be other solutions, these two companies are the market leaders.

Cisco is a tried-and-true product with extensive support and features. Juniper, on the other hand, is a great value, providing high scalability and a wide range of features. Both of these products have the potential to fit your organization's needs, but this article will focus on what makes Juniper the best solution.

Note: this is a series comparing Juniper vs Cisco. Read more about when Cisco could be the best option for you.

Juniper Provides Great Value

Juniper routers and switches are generally less expensive than their Cisco counterparts. Therefore, Juniper is an excellent choice for all of your networking needs.

Juniper's focus on core routing technologies removes a lot of overhead that could be associated with its competitors. Cisco, on the other hand, attempts to sell an entire ecosystem of hardware and software. This means your organization will have to invest a lot of time, effort, and capital into setting up, maintaining, and troubleshooting the solution.

Juniper's streamlined solutions can give your organization the flexibility it needs without compromising speed, security, or scalability.

Juniper is Secure

Juniper prides itself on its level of security. According to Juniper, device security consists of three elements: physical security of the hardware, operating system security, and configuration-based security.

To satisfy these three elements, Juniper implements state-of-the-art software to ensure a secure user experience. For instance, Junos OS, the Juniper operating system, supports Terminal Access Controller Access Control System Plus (TACACS+). TACACS+ is a method of authenticating users for routers and switches. It is managed by a central authority, which allows authenticated users to access any router, switch, or gateway on a network.

In addition to standard security features like TACACS+, Junos OS supports Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Protection. Junos' OS DDoS protection allows a network to operate normally while under attack. This is accomplished by identifying the source of the attack and applying route engine switchover so that the rest of the network can resume functionality. However, Juniper's SRX Next-Generation Firewall can prevent a lot of hacking from the source.

Unfortunately, in December 2024, Juniper reported that devices with default passwords were compromised by the Mirai botnet, which exploited these credentials to launch DDoS attacks. To fully leverage Juniper's security features, you'll need robust security measures, such as changing default passwords, regularly auditing access logs, and keeping systems updated.

SRX Series Firewall is Solid 

Juniper's SRX series Firewall is designed to block threats in real-time for your network edge, data center, and cloud applications. These gateways are high-performance, low-latency hardware solutions that can block unwanted communication. The SRX series firewall provides industry-leading antivirus protection and URL filtering.

It can also work at the app level, giving the administrator fine-grained control over who has access to what applications based on configured policies. The SRX gateway delivers curated, action threat intelligence that allows you to protect against imminent intrusion proactively.

Juniper is Cloud-Ready

In 2025, Juniper continued to expand its AI-Native Networking Platform, integrating security and networking operations under a unified cloud and AI umbrella. This integration simplifies management and improves visibility across network and security domains. 

A couple of years ago, Juniper began investing heavily in cloud technologies, and it looks like those investments are paying off. By acquiring Mist AI, Juniper has dramatically accelerated its cloud platform.

By leveraging AI and machine learning, Juniper has invented ways to streamline and simplify the cloud configuration process greatly. For instance, Mist AI uses an interface named Marvis to assist in troubleshooting networks. It can find viable solutions by mining logs, reviewing past issues, and analyzing the current software state. 

Once it has the solution, Marvis will give you the option to apply the fixes automatically. (Or automagically, as they say.)

Plus, Juniper introduced the Secure AI-Native Edge solution, which combines SD-WAN, security, and network access control (NAC) under a common cloud and Mist AI engine. This convergence enables seamless and secure Universal Zero Trust Network Access (uZTNA) deployments, further improving Juniper's cloud-ready offerings.

In addition to Marvis and Mist AI, Juniper can satisfy your cloud experience by offering SD-WAN, which stands for Software Defined Wide Area Network. While it is important to note that the SD-WAN is not a proprietary Juniper product, it is greatly enhanced by the Juniper Mist AI architecture.

Junos OS Auditing Features

Lastly, Junos OS provides excellent auditing support to monitor the effectiveness of your implemented policies. The logs can be scanned in real-time to determine various security lapses and vulnerabilities. Most of these features are in-house and don't require any additional costs. Advanced features, such as those requiring integration with external systems, may have associated costs.

Juniper is Here to Stay

All of the benefits above are excellent reasons to choose Juniper, but it doesn't mean much if the company itself isn't doing too hot. After all, no one wants to invest in an IT solution that will quickly become obscure and obsolete. Thankfully, Juniper has been firing on all cylinders and will continue to do so.

Juniper currently holds 15.46% of the market and continues to eat into Cisco's profits. Also, they reported Q3 revenue of $1,331 million, a decrease of 5% year over year but an increase of 12% sequentially (over Q2 2024 numbers). A sequential increase can signal short-term recovery or strong performance relative to recent challenges. It’s also a good sign if the company is trending upward after a tough period.

So, what does all of this mean for your organization? It means you don't have to worry about the company downsizing and losing out on much-needed support. It also means you can have confidence that Juniper will continue to develop competitive technologies at a regular pace.

A recent development for Juniper is its acquisition by HPE, announced in early 2024. This $14 billion acquisition is a strategic move that underlines Juniper's continued relevance in the networking space. With HPE's backing, Juniper is set to expand its market presence and enhance its product offerings, particularly in areas like AI-driven networking solutions.

This partnership promises to strengthen Juniper's competitive position against Cisco, enabling it to offer more robust and innovative solutions to its customers.

Final Thoughts

Looking towards the future, Juniper's acquisition by HPE marks a turning point for the company. This significant move boosts Juniper's financial standing and aligns it with HPE's broader technological and market strategies.

This collaboration is expected to yield enhanced networking solutions, combining Juniper's expertise in AI and cloud technologies with HPE's vast resources. For customers and stakeholders, this signifies Juniper's strengthened capability to innovate and compete in the evolving IT landscape.

Their price points are considerably lower than those of the leading competitors. Lastly, their product line allows for more flexibility when choosing telephonic and cloud-based solutions. For instance, Cisco offers an all-in-one solution, unlike Juniper, which is more specialized.

It is no secret that Juniper is giving Cisco a run for its money. Juniper has done an excellent job growing its customer-centric applications, cloud-based solutions, and core routing hardware. As long as it continues to grow as forecasted, it will always be a viable alternative to Cisco.