When you build a new office, branch or data center, one question comes up first: which network equipment should you buy? Cisco vs Mikrotik vs UniFi — or Huawei? The right answer is not a brand, it is your business. This guide explains choosing network equipment — office switches and routers, access point selection, and business network gear — without the marketing gloss. ONYX supplies, configures and supports all of these brands, which means our interest is not in selling you one label, but in helping you choose the right mix.
Define the need before the hardware
Before picking equipment, answer a few questions. The answers almost choose the brand for you:
- Company size and user count — a 15-person office and a 500-person corporation have entirely different requirements.
- Need for central management — do you want to manage many branches from one panel, or is each site independent?
- Budget — not just the hardware price, but licensing, support and future expansion costs too.
- Scale and growth — you are small today, but how many sites will you reach in two years?
- In-house skill — do you have an engineer who runs the network, or will you hand everything to an external partner?
Once these five factors are clear, the differences between brands start to make sense.
Four brands, four distinct strengths
Cisco — the enterprise standard
Cisco is the industry standard for large and mission-critical networks: broad functionality, deep security, mature routing and IP telephony. The engineering talent pool is wide and the documentation is rich. ONYX built the network for Gazprom Azerbaijan on Cisco switches and routers together with Cisco IP telephony — a good illustration of where Cisco fits when high reliability is required.
Mikrotik — cost-effective routing and edge
Mikrotik offers strong functionality at an affordable price and is especially flexible for routing, edge and specialized scenarios. Configured correctly, its value-for-money is strong for small and mid-size business. Configuration takes experience — ONYX supplies Mikrotik gear and sets it up properly.
Ubiquiti / UniFi — simple managed Wi-Fi and switching
UniFi is ideal for offices and hospitality (hotels, restaurants): the whole network — switches, access points, router — is managed from one simple panel. Fast deployment, clean interface. ONYX deployed UniFi Wi-Fi and the network across the entire property at Şuşa Hotel — exactly where wide but easy-to-manage coverage is needed.
Huawei — large scale
Huawei delivers strong value in large-scale deployments — environments where many switches and access points work under one architecture. ONYX built Huawei switching at scale for the Judo Federation: 45 L2 and 8 L3 switches, 120 access points. That is a real example of Huawei where scale is the requirement.
So how do you actually choose?
Often the right answer is not one brand but the right mix. For example, Mikrotik routing at the edge, a Cisco or Huawei core inside, and UniFi for office Wi-Fi — all working together.
Small and mid-size office
If simple management and fast deployment matter most, UniFi is usually the easiest choice; Mikrotik can be added for edge routing.
Large corporation and critical infrastructure
If you need high reliability, IP telephony and deep security, Cisco is the standard choice. For wide-scale deployments Huawei offers a strong alternative.
If you have no in-house team
The brand of the hardware is secondary — what matters is who configures and supports it. In that case a managed IT model is the safest path: ONYX takes on the supply, the build and ongoing support.
What ONYX provides
ONYX does not just sell hardware — we help you choose the right brand, then supply, configure and support it. We work with real vendors: Cisco, Mikrotik, Ubiquiti/UniFi, Huawei, as well as Dell, HP/HPE, Lenovo, Fortinet, Palo Alto and Microsoft. See our partners, explore our services and our business solutions.
Let us choose your network gear together
If you want to know which mix of switches, routers and access points fits your office, branch or data center, get in touch — we will listen to your needs and give a practical recommendation.