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I asked a few users at Cisco shops to see what they think about the Clean Air announcement. A great deal of them have not seen the Cisco Clean Air vs. Aruba video, much less know that Aruba the company exists.

A number of these users are not happy, simply because they just purchased a bunch of APs. They also didn't like that they would have to refresh them completely with 3500 series APs if they are to realize the full benefits of the Spectrum solution according to the thread here: https://supportforums.cisco.com/message/3068861

Value is getting more than what you paid for; NOT paying for something and then paying again plus more for a feature that you would use infrequently (Spectrum Analysis). Paying $3000 for a Cognio/Airmagnet/Cisco spectrum card is worth it, because it saves time and energy for those few incidents when you really need it.

Even if Cisco agreed to give all customers who purchased 802.11n APs in the past year a free 3500-series access point for each one they purchased, they would STILL have to pay for the cost of dismounting the old ones and mounting the new ones, plus the costly external antennas that you would have to replace. These costs, depending on your labor structure is not cheap! Add the cost of interferer licenses, and a context-aware MSE and things get very expensive, indeed. Aruba has not shipped a spectrum product, but promises that existing users with 802.11n access points will have that functionality without replacing access points, later this year. No doubt, Cisco has been having to field a lot of hard questions about this. This is probably where the idea for the Cisco Clean Air vs. Aruba video came from. Cisco has a very savvy marketing organization and would not mention a competitor unless they were feeling a great deal of pressure (the LA Lakers don't trash-talk the Clippers, do they?).

I'm all for innovation and the features and functionality of Clean Air are revolutionary, but you have to give up a great deal to get it. In this financially difficult environment, companies are always looking for ways to cut costs. It is not easy to financially make the case for a full Clean Access deployment with a tight budget. Betty and Liz from purchasing are being pressured to look for more affordable alternatives and are less willing to factor in "the Cisco Premium".