Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR ), remains an important competitor to watch. The investment in new products, which drove up Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) 's operating expenses over the last two years, now has the company poised to grow earnings over 20% and gain share in routers and switches and new products–presumably at Cisco's expense. The smaller, nimbler Juniper has outpaced Cisco in the past and undoubtedly will again, but for a core, long-term holding Cisco's lower volatility is appealing. With $30 billion in cash, a price/earnings ratio of 11.5 times next year's earnings, a dividend yield double that of the S&P 500 and a management team executing extremely well in a difficult global economic environment, Cisco is the kind of long-term investment idea investors should consider as a core holding. Nancy Tengler owns shares of International Business Machines., Coca-Cola, and Cisco Systems.