Mory Ejabat on Ascend's conference call, coupled with TWO Data Communications Magazine HOT Products awards for their latest products, the GRF 500 IP switch and the MAX TNT WAN access server, makes it clear that Ascend is on the right track technically, with the right timing, to continue to develop the installed base and stay a strong winner financially.
I was pleased to hear the conservative approach Ascend has to product releases and income recognition of these new products. The product synergism of the MAX family provides a scaleable solution for growth and the MAX 400X installed base becomes "seeds" for MAX TNT's, which will create market pull for the GRF 400 IP routers. What a deal.
As recent as November 25, 1996, at the COMDEX/Fall computer trade show in Las Vegas, the Pipeline 50 won PC/Computing's Most Valuable Product (MVP) award as the "Best ISDN Router", coupled with an aggressive price reduction insures competetive leadership in the low end ISDN router market.
Network Management of the hardware family (GRF, MAX down to
Pipeline), with the recent Stoneybrook merger is enough in itself,
but I learn from the conference call that Stoneybrook software will manage Cisco 7000's!!! That creates efficiencies for management of multi-vendor investments contributing to market acceptance.
Then I learn from Ascend's conference call that Ascend's ISDL implementation provides a cost savings solution over ISDN service
with a migration path to asymmetrical ADSL at higher speeds, again protects equipment investment and fuels market acceptance.
The GRF 400 provides an answer to real internet growth problems, not just engineering bells and whistles. This isn't a mere "upgrade", but a new platform providing multiples of throughput and cost savings over alternative solutions for a market that needs the solution. No wonder Ascend is winning product awards.
Ascend answered the markets desire for 56KB modems with a Rockwell chip solution which is the clear choice of the large majority of major vendors, again protecting customers' investment in Ascend products.
I have been reading this thread about seven months now, looking for indicators of Ascend's future. The implications of Ascend's technical success, timeliness and marketing wisdom fueled by the high growth of the internet/intranet revolution, their continued success is theirs for some years to come. The conference call indicated they are putting more into R&D new hires. I like the ride and see the next wave.
Dee Jay seems always on target, and replies by Joseph #1638, Stan #1650, and Mike #1664 reflect the same understanding of Ascend's wisdom and our opportunity to benefit from Ascend's future winnings.
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