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Technology Stocks : Ciena (CIEN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rob Pierce who wrote (10078)	12/19/2000 6:54:49 PM
From: jghutchison	Respond to of 12623

Rob, Did Omnia's and Cyras' products target the same niche? Yes, they did. The edge access market. Is Cyras' product a less disruptive version of Omnia's? How do they differ? If anything, it is more disruptive. However, the K2 uses technology that is more familiar in look and feel than the EdgeDirector. I believe the K2 is subtantially superior product than the ED, and for that matter superior to the similar products offered by Cisco and Redback. Could have the acquisition of Omnia occurred too soon, such that current customers have passed on it, but that it's possible that Omnia's product (now EdgeDirector) will resurface at a later time? I believe the ED is history. K2 will obviate the need for EdgeDirector. FWIW, Ciena was developing its own version of the optical switch, and bought the CoreDirector(Lightera) because it was a substantially superior product. This act, to me at least, demonstrates a farsighted management with no hangups or NIH factors....a company that really knows how to execute. Jack Hutchison

To: Rob Pierce who wrote (10078)	12/19/2000 7:01:35 PM
From: Techplayer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12623

Rob, From what I recall, the ED was target to sit on premise at large office buildings. I am not sure if the last mile box supporting the Cyras platform is in development. If so, it is that box that would most closely resemble what Omnia was building. The purchase of the Omnia box was done too soon and I believe that the box itself was out before there was a real market for it. the development of a last mile box based on the Cyras platform will obviate the need to blow the dust off of the ED. tp

To: Rob Pierce who wrote (10078)	12/19/2000 10:10:15 PM
From: James Fulop	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12623

>>I've gotten the impression from prior posts and the LR articles that Omnia's Metro SONET gear had a ..."different" (?) ... implementation that may have not proven palatable to potential customers<< Actually my understanding is that it was not "Metro SONET" gear but actually Metro ATM gear, and therefore was not successful. The only other firm that also took the ATM route with metro access was Atmosphere....which ended up in the arms of Ditech. lightreading.com lightreading.com >>Did Omnia's and Cyras' products target the same niche?<< From Cyras literature and the CC this morning, it appears that the K2 (the Cyras platform) can deal with all sorts of different protocols, and not just ATM. So to be accurate, it seems that the EdgeDirector targeted only a niche of the overall market the K2 is targeting. Here is the white paper on the K2: cyras.com >>Is Cyras' product a less disruptive version of Omnia's?<< I don't think so. I just think Ciena picked the wrong protocol "horse" with the EdgeDirector. In fact, picking a "horse" itself was probably a mistake. Perhaps the "interoperability of horses" might be a good explanation of the K2? Dunno.... >>Could have the acquisition of Omnia occurred too soon, such that current customers have passed on it, but that it's possible that Omnia's product (now EdgeDirector) will resurface at a later time?<< Well, features of the EdgeDirector are still being worked on for incorporation into other Ciena products, but given the limited appeal of the ATM aspect, I would think that its future as a blockbuster product may be limited. >>Or will K2 (Cyras) simply obviate the need for EdgeDirector (Omnia)?<< Far more likely than the EdgeDirector ever gaining "traction", as they say...<g> BTW, I have no clue if I am right about the above, but I just thought I would throw out some thoughts...<g> PS Here is an article on the deal today I just found over on Yahoo... Techplayer especially might appreciate the following passage given our dialogue on this certification matter over on the Sycamore thread... >>So why Cyras? One big step in selling to the local phone companies is receiving certification from Telcordia Technologies Inc., the phone companies' testing organization. That process can take months and cost millions. "The K2 has been through that process," Nettles said. "It's one of the indications of the maturity of their product."<< Full article at: "Ciena Corp. Reheats Fiber-Optic Market With $2.6 Billion Bid " investors.com