Network TCO comprises the initial purchase price of a standardized, basic network design, plus the lifetime costs of labor, maintenance services, and energy costs. The baseline network TCO considered the lowest-cost solutions to meet network requirements from Cisco and other vendors. In this baseline, the research revealed that despite a Cisco price premium, the TCO difference over the lifetime of the network was at most 7%. These comparisons assume equal and undifferentiated functionality—a network that is “good enough.” But Cisco networks deliver far more capability: capability that is only captured in an architectural TCO.