The 7 Biggest Myths Debunked By Tech Companies To Serve Their Own Needs (CSCO, HPQ, ORCL, MSFT, AMZN, DELL, IBM)

MythBusters isn't just a popular show on Discovery Channel.

Increasingly, enterprise tech vendors are getting in on the myth-busting fun, too. 

Only when they debunk popular beliefs, there is usually an ulterior motive. 

For example: Tech companies that want customers to buy their products will sometimes try to "debunk" myths about competitors' products that have good reputations. 

Sometimes, companies try to get customers to buy high-end products by arguing that buying cheaper ones could lead to unforeseen problems. 

These tactics aren't immoral or wrong -- they all fall under the umbrella of corporate marketing. But that doesn't mean it's not easy to spot when vendors are speaking out in self-serving ways. 

2011: Cisco says cheaper networks aren't always "good enough."

Cisco is top dog in networking equipment, but its stuff isn't the cheapest on the market.

So, Cisco's competitors sometimes try to compete with it on price, pitching their networking products as simpler yet "good enough" for most businesses' needs. 

Well, Cisco doesn't much care for this line of reasoning. Its networks have lots of security tech built in, as well as tech that makes video and voice run better. Cisco also offers maintenance and support services. 

All of this costs more, but Cisco says companies reap the benefits by being able to do business faster.

So in 2011, Cisco tried to debunk several myths about "good enough" networking hardware. The gist: Companies that try to skimp by purchasing cheap networking hardware are making a big mistake. 

Cisco even shot this video of a fake dating game show to support its point: 

2012: HP says remanufactured printer toner could be trouble

HP makes lots of money from selling ink cartridges for printers. But it doesn't make any money when a third party takes a spent HP cartridge, refills it with ink, and sells it again for a fraction of what HP charges. 

So, HP often tries to debunk the "myths" about remanufactured toner cartridges. In a September 2012 blog post, said their print quality isn't as good as new ones, and also suggested they're bad for the environment and could even damage customers' printers. 

"While the print quality from remanufactured cartridges may seem 'good enough,' it often degrades, resulting in pages that are not fit for distribution inside or outside the company," HP said in the blog post. 

2008: Microsoft says open source software is more expensive.

This might actually be one of the most well-worn themes to ever come out of Redmond.

In 2008, Microsoft interviewed a bunch of companies that it said had switched from Microsoft Office to the alternative OpenOffice software, only to come running back into Microsoft's arms after finding it chock full of hidden costs. 

"We originally installed Linux based PCs running OpenOffice to save money in the short term. But we quickly found that the exorbitant cost and limited availability of support left us worse off," James Fleming, infrastructure and support manager at Speedy Hire, a UK-based equipment rental firm, told Microsoft's PressPass PR unit. 

To Microsoft's credit, it has stopped doing this and has been embracing open source in recent years.