Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : The New QLogic (ANCR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KJ. Moy who wrote (28381)	2/14/2001 3:47:13 PM
From: Gus	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 29386

INRG also has 10-15% of the FC director market. From 0% to 15% in five months is incredible IMO Well, those numbers are coming off a low numerical base. Notice how IDC revised the 2000 numbers from purely FC factory director switch revenues to a higher number that I think includes FICON? With a penetration rate of only 15%, I think both INRG and MCDTA will thrive in a rapidly expanding market for at least the next 2-3 years. MCDTA has its own ASICs so it can address the director switch and fabric switch markets. I think INRG will sell more directors than QLGC, which in turn, will sell more fabric switches than directors. Director Switches IDC Forecast IDC Forecast 2000 2001 (revised) (revised) Y/Y% 1999 $ 52.4M $ 86.0M - 2000 197.2M 313.0M 264% 2001 441.6M 709.0M 127% 2002 867.9M 1,352.0M 91% 2003 1,429.0M 2,175.0M 61% ....McData still stacked two Brocade switches together to make ends meet.... Actually, they only licensed the ASIC for their 32-port director under the terms of the settlement of a 1998 patent infringement lawsuit which derived its roots from McData's 1997 acquisition of HWP's CNO (Canadian Network Operations) division. This $5M acquisition included about 14 employees and about 15 patents, 2 of which include Brocade's co-founder and top technologist (K.Mulavalli) as co-inventor so there were some questions about the technology ownership. If I'm not mistaken, HWP had a hand in the settlement between its former employees and McData which was supplying HWP with some switches for a parallel server program at HWP. McData subsequently developed their own ASIC technology and they now have a full line of director switches and fabric switches. The FC director field is still wide open. Not as wide open as you think. The installed base for McData's ESCON directors is about 5,100+. McData was the exclusive OEM for IBM for the ESCON directors and the FICON bridge cards, which converts ESCON directors into FICON directors. McData has already booked over $30M in FICON bridge card sales so when those customers start to expand their SANs, I doubt that they will switch to another vendor that easily. Note that IBM Global Services is the support arm for those ESCON Directors, FICON bridge cards and McData's FC directors. Inrange's ESCON installed base is around 900+ so like I said, both are going to be have their hands full their migrating their existing customer base over the next few years.