Lucent Bursts Into AP Data Market, Slams Cisco [Info on N+I Tokyo]
nb-pacifica.com
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1998 JUN 3 (NB) -- By Neil Taylor, IT Daily.
Lucent Technologies yesterday launched its first major campaign to
capture a slice of the Asia Pacific data networking market. Centering on
a range of new and established hardware and software solutions, Lucent
aims to sell its IP-based network management products as a complete
data networking solution for both local and wide area networks.
Speaking at Networld + Interop in Tokyo, Barney Lau, Asia Pacific
regional manager, enterprise networks business communications systems, admitted the strategy
would be crucial as more enterprises looked to integrate their data, voice and multimedia traffic. "If
Lucent Technologies wants to be a credible and leading player in data networking, we have to play
in these areas," he said.
"This product announcement is really an announcement of Lucent as a data networking Solutions
Company, said Lau. "We are announcing that we are going to go into Asia Pacific as a very serious
commitment in data networking."
Lucent's new offerings include the access concentrators, ATM and Gigabit Ethernet switches,
communications and network management software and the PortMaster 4 Remote Access
concentrator, supporting 5Gbps ATM and 100Mbps Ethernet, and supporting up to 864
simultaneous users. The rack-mounted PortMaster has been built to accommodate board upgrades
to support voice over IP and xDSL.
The company also announced plans to bring its Virtual Telephone software for the Internet
Telephony Server by the end of this year. The Virtual Telephone, already available in the US, is a
client/server application that brings PBX, voice messaging and data applications within easy reach
for mobile workers.
The range features products aimed at the carrier, enterprise and service provider markets. The
products, some of which have been previously available and others which have been come about
through the acquisitions of Livingston Enterprises, Prominet and Yurie Systems, are intended to fit
easily into customers' existing networks or for installation as a complete package. Lucent will be
selling direct to service providers, and using channel partners to reach enterprise customers.
Mun-yeun Leong, general manager of Lucent's data networking systems group agreed that the
company was reacting partly to pressure from data networking companies, but denied that their
growth was a threat to Lucent. "When you think of just the infrastructure providers, there are
Cisco, 3Com, Bay Networks ... but when you think of total solution providers, there are really no competitors."[Really....]
Leong said he was not prepared to announce target figures for the new business, but expects sales to reflect general market trends. "Data networking itself is growing by 30 to 40 percent per annum,
the switching areas are growing by 70 to 80 percent per annum, therefore we'd like to achieve that
kind of growth and at the same we have many competitors such as Cisco," said Leong. "We plan
to become one of the top vendors in this area."
Reported by Newsbytes News Network newsbytes.com.
(19980603/WIRES ASIA, NETWORK/)
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