Arista Networks

Arista holds a strong position in cloud data center networking, which creates notable customer lock-in. Its products (high-end switches with EOS software, telemetry, etc.) are complex and mission-critical, so large customers face high switching costs once deployed.

Arista also invests heavily in R&D and owns key technical know-how for low-latency, programmable networking. These factors act as substantial barriers to entry. On the other hand, Arista still has significant competitors (Cisco, HPE/Aruba, Juniper, white-box players) in networking.

It is not a pure network effect business, but analysts recognize its advantage. For example, Gurufocus rates Arista as having a “Wide Moat” due to its market position, proprietary technology, and switching costs. Based on these considerations, we assign a high moat score.

The advantage looks durable over the next decade, but it is not so dominant as to be completely unassailable.