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Cisco Product Quick Reference Guide- Finally, You Can Download It for Free.

3rd November 2008 By 6 Comments

Once upon a time, the Cisco Quick Reference was free to download. Then you had to pay for it. Now it’s free again. Does that tell you anything ?
Why would Cisco charge for the most basic piece of sales reference material ? It always baffled me to understand why Cisco Marketing would think that making resellers PAY for marketing material would be good business. Given that for many SMB and mid-level resellers the CPQRG is an indispensable reference why would you outsource it to Nationsprint so that they can make a profit ?. I used to receive a printed copy every three to six months and always carried it with me.

Anyone wanna bet that they didn’t sell many ? I never bought one and would never pay money for it. Would you ?

Go now and download a copy.

You can access the Cisco Product Quick Reference Guide at https://www.nationsprint.com/clients/cpqrg/

cpqrg-1.jpg
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About Greg Ferro

Greg Ferro is a Network Engineer/Architect, mostly focussed on Data Centre, Security Infrastructure, and recently Virtualization. He has over 20 years in IT, in wide range of employers working as a freelance consultant including Finance, Service Providers and Online Companies. He is CCIE#6920 and has a few ideas about the world, but not enough to really count.

He is a host on the Packet Pushers Podcast, blogger at EtherealMind.com and on Twitter @etherealmind and Google Plus

  • http://twitter.com/DigitalCribs Lauren

    Hi Greg,

    I found you on Twitter as I am helping with the Digital Cribs Twitter feed but wanted to chime in on your blog. I actually helped organize one of the chapters for the CPQRG. They sell about 25,000 each edition. It is the largest selling guide Cisco does. When a new edition comes out they sell it and then post it as a free pdf after a few months. However, I too would like it if they posted it free when it first comes out.

    Anywhoo, just wanted to help with sharing some info.

  • http://etherealmind.com Greg Ferro

    Hi Lauren

    Nice to hear from you. Couple of things:

    1 – “largest selling guide” doesn’t absolve the guilt of selling something that should be free to promote sales opportunities.

    2 – Oh wow, I am so grateful to Cisco that make it available free after a couple of months. Meaning I now have out of date marketing information.

    Cisco Marketing should stop pissing money away on so-called ‘viral marketing campaigns’ for Metro Ethernet switche and put the guide out for free in electonic form every quarter.

    http://etherealmind.com/2008/10/28/cisco-lame-viral-meme-marketing-yawn/

  • Tim

    Yeah, I used to love them until they went to pay for use. That is total BS. These are used as a reference to SELL Cisco product. WTF were they thinking? The ONLY reason that ANY were sold is that they are actually a great tool. To me, this is another stupid thing that helps generate the term “Cisco Tax.”

    Finally someone came to their senses. THANK you O’ nameless wonder.

  • http://networkindustryreview.co.uk/ Benjamin Ellis

    Is that a legit source? Scouting around the site it doesn’t seem to check out.

    • http://etherealmind.com Greg Ferro

      I can see why you would say that, but, yes that is website of the company that prints the Quick Reference Guide. I agree that they look like a bunch of dodgy fly-by-night dealers. Not up to the usual standards.

      I wonder if someone knew someone ? Hmm. I mean USD$20 for off the shelf material that has already been written and needs only to be collated and 25000 units sold per run. Someone is making some serious cash out of it.

  • http://drop.io/cpqrg200 jeremy

    Hey.. i needed this for work, and rather than emailing it to everyone, i dropped it off at http://drop.io/cpqrg2008 … welcome to this!!