Arista’s Enterprise Push Is Coming to Fruition

Arista Networks built its brand powering the largest and most complex cloud and AI data center networks in the world. Arista is a known quantity in the hyperscale community, counting Microsoft and Meta among its largest customers.

Arista started its enterprise push with the 2018 launch of campus-focused switches. It has been chipping away at a true enterprise campus/branch offering ever since, with the 2019 Cognitive Campus portfolio launch, the 2020 launch of enterprise Wi-Fi (via the 2018 acquisition of Mojo Networks), the expansion of the enterprise campus and wireless portfolio, and most recently the VeloCloud SD-WAN acquisition.

Arista now offers an end to end architecture for enterprise campus and branch and is intent on building its brand in that market, based on its success and brand reputation in hyperscale data centers. Few vendors could succeed in winning share in a market with such high barriers to entry, but this networking vendor powers the largest cloud and AI networks and has a staggering $180 billion market capitalization (68% of Cisco’s as of September 15, 2025), a war chest of over $8 billion in cash, and a technology stack that has been proven in the most complex networks in the world.

Arista may be the one vendor that can capture market share in the mature enterprise networking space, but it has big hurdles to overcome in the form of enterprise market brand recognition, channel partner network expansion, and scaling its support and technical assistance center (TAC) for the enterprise market.

Strengths

Arista has three very powerful attributes going for it as it pushes into the enterprise market:

1. Technical capability and credibility. As noted above, Arista is widely acknowledged as a technical and engineering leader in network infrastructure. Arista is the network backbone of hyperscale data centers like Microsoft and Meta as well as in more niche markets like high-frequency trading, where low latency and high reliability are critically important. Its TAC is considered best of breed, with very customer-centric and extremely competent support staff and engineers.
2. Outstanding financial results and position. Arista (stock symbol NYSE: ANET) is a Wall Street darling for good reason. Its stock price is up almost 60% YTD in 2025 and over 1,000% in the past five years. That is remarkable growth, and the company keeps meeting or beating earnings expectations quarter after quarter. Expectations are high, with an average annual revenue growth rate of 24% from 2019 to 2024, including a rare 4% revenue dip in 2020. With gross margins upward of 64% and over $8 billion in cash and free cash flow accumulating on that war chest, the company can afford to pay for growth in the enterprise market.
3. A comprehensive product portfolio. With the additions of campus/branch hardware, enterprise-class WLAN infrastructure (via Mojo Networks acquisition), market-leading SD-WAN (VeloCloud), and a best-in-class core network operating system (EOS), Arista’s networking portfolio now covers the smallest branch to the largest data center. Arista also uses merchant silicon from Broadcom, Marvell, Intel, and Nvidia as opposed to building custom proprietary ASICs, which are more costly to design and manufacture.

Challenges

Arista faces hurdles that are far from trivial in its push into the enterprise. Three challenges will take some time to overcome:

1. Name recognition and brand awareness. If you mention Arista Networks to most IT or networking professionals, they may have heard the name but likely don’t give it much thought. Ask a financial analyst at an investment firm, and they’ll definitely know about Arista. There is a plethora of articles about Arista in finance and investment publications, but it has limited brand visibility in enterprise technology-related publications. Building brand awareness and name recognition in the enterprise market will be a heavy lift, likely requiring a multiyear effort and huge investment.
2. Sales and channel network. Arista has a small network of channel partners and did acquire a channel partner network with the VeloCloud acquisition, but the company has been selling direct to its largest customers. That sales model does not scale to smaller enterprise sales; a robust channel partner network is essential to growth. Arista will be competing against Cisco’s 17,000+ sales team and 60,000+ channel partners and HPE’s 90,000+ channel partner network. It is a steep hill to climb – again, a multiyear effort and huge investment.
3. Enterprise networks are established and mature. There are far fewer greenfield or even brownfield network implementations than there are established networks that would invest in incremental modernization. Given the high cost of switching network vendors, most organizations will invest in the network incrementally using their existing network vendor. Without a very compelling ROI, enterprises are not doing network rip and replace. This means that IT infrastructure professionals are trained on, and proficient in the administration of, their incumbent network infrastructure vendor. Wresting share from incumbents in a market like this is very difficult. For Arista, this presents another challenge that will take time and significant investment to overcome.

Risk Exposure

If you ever want to understand how a public company views its risk exposure, you will find it documented exhaustively in the annual report. In Arista’s case, the Form 10-K filed with the SEC for 2024 identifies the some of the risks outlined above, but there is one risk, the first identified in the risk section, that is worrisome.

Nearly half of Arista’s revenue (48%) comes from what it calls “Cloud and AI Titans” (hyperscalers). In its last 10-K, the company identified that the volatility is ever-present, with sales to Meta falling from 26% of revenue in 2022 to 15% in 2024. During the same period, sales to Microsoft increased from 16% of revenue to 20%. That’s a roller coaster ride that is sure to nauseate even the strongest stomach, and it represents a risk that is largely out of Arista’s control. If investment in cloud and AI data center networking slows significantly, Arista is highly exposed. If the hyperscalers choose to make their own networking gear, that’s a material risk.

Arista is acutely aware of the risk associated with the reliance on a small handful of customers for nearly half of its revenue, which is likely the primary reason for its aggressive push into the enterprise market. While it appears to be growing market share in enterprise networking, it’s difficult to find reliable market share data broken out by segment. The fact remains that it is far behind the market share of Cisco or HPE Networking in a market that does not experience large swings in market share in short periods of time.

Recommendations

There is a lot to consider when evaluating and purchasing in the enterprise networking market, and Arista’s push into the market adds to the considerations.

1. Add Arista to the mix. Competition in mature markets ultimately benefits buyers, especially when it’s a vendor that has proven technology and ability to execute.
2. Keep your vendors honest. Always leverage competitive quotes to keep pricing honest across all vendors. Arista’s entry does provide another viable option for leverage even if you don’t intend to migrate immediately.
3. Run a small pilot if you’re seriously considering a migration. Try it out with a branch or part of a campus network. Run a structured pilot with expected outcomes and be sure to document the results. There will be evaluation gear available for these types of pilots.
4. Always do a TCO analysis and comparison. Understanding the total cost of ownership of any solution is critical to decision-making. Never take a vendor’s word for it – make sure you do your own analysis.
5. Ensure partner coverage. If you have preferred VARs or SIs, check if they are an Arista channel partner. If not, check in your area for a reputable Arista partner. If there isn’t one, it’s likely better to wait until there is.

Bottom Line

Arista’s ambitions in the enterprise networking market are coming to fruition. The company’s enterprise stack is now complete with campus switching, Wi-Fi 7, identity aware operations, and now SD-WAN. Arista has both the capability and the capital to compete for campus and branch refreshes at scale, provided it can build brand recognition, a robust channel partner network, and a very compelling argument for switching vendors. For CIOs and technology purchasers looking for product and licensing simplicity, proven technology, and leading-edge functionality, Arista is a contender for the shortlist.