- IT Support
IT Support Trends for 2026: What SMEs Should Prepare For
22 Mar, 2026

£116.71 inc. VAT
AI-generated summary
A 25m Lenovo Cat5e network cable in blue is the sort of thing you buy when you just need a reliable, boring run to get an office link working—no drama, no fiddling. At £97.26 ex-VAT it’s not “panic-cheap,” so I wouldn’t treat it as a bargain. It’s most likely priced higher than generic bulk patch/cabling, which means you’re paying for brand/traceability rather than some magic performance jump. For most desks, meeting rooms, and typical Ethernet runs, Cat5e is absolutely fine, and a known-name cable can be a small comfort if you’re standardising spares or doing consistent installs.
Who should buy: anyone doing a small number of controlled runs where you want Lenovo-branded parts (or you’re matching an existing Lenovo-managed environment) and you don’t want to gamble on oddball cable quality. Who shouldn’t: if you’re cost-sensitive, building out lots of runs, or you’re happy using reputable non-branded Cat5e from a proper IT supplier—there are usually better value options per metre. If you might need higher future headroom or longer distances beyond what you’re planning, I’d also consider whether you’re better off future-proofing with a newer category rather than locking into Cat5e.

STARTECH
StarTech.com Juniper EX-SFP-10GE-DAC-1M Compatible 1m 10G SFP+ to SFP+ Direct Attach Cable Twinax, 10GbE SFP+ Copper DAC 10 Gbps Low Power Passive Mini GBIC/Transceiver Module DAC Cable - Lifetime Warranty (EXSFP10GE1M) - 10GBase direct attach cable - SFP+ latched to SFP+ latched - 1 m - twinaxial - SFF-8431/SFF-8432 - passive - black

Lenovo
Lenovo Passive Direct Attach Cable - 10GBase direct attach cable - SFP+ (M) to SFP+ (M) - 1 m - passive - for ThinkAgile HX2320 Appliance, MX1020 Appliance, ThinkSystem DE4000H Hybrid, SD630 V2

STARTECH
StarTech.com Cisco SFP-H10GB-ACU10M Compatible 10m 10G SFP+ to SFP+ Direct Attach Cable Twinax, 10GbE SFP+ Copper DAC 10Gbps Low Power Active Transceiver Module DAC Cable, Firepower ASR9000 - Lifetime Warranty (SFPH10GACU10) - 10GBase direct attach cable - SFP+ latched to SFP+ latched - 10 m - twinaxial - SFF-8431/SFF-8432 - active - black

STARTECH
StarTech.com 1000 ft Bulk Cat6 Ethernet Cable - Stranded - CM-Rated for In-Wall Use - Cat 6 UTP Patch Cable - Blue (WIRC6PATBLRL) - Bulk cable - 305 m - UTP - CAT 6 - stranded - blue - for P/N: IES61002POE, POEINJ1G, POEINJ1GW, POEINJ4G, ST2000PEXPSE, ST4000PEXPSE, UPOESPLT1G