To: puborectalis who wrote (10979 ) 11/4/2001 11:58:54 PM From: puborectalis Read Replies (1) | Respond to F5 Networks (FFIV) 16.56 -0.19: -- Before Open -- FAC/Equities First Albany initiates coverage with a Buy; believes the company is a best-of-breed vendor in the traffic management space; notes the company is at the beginning stages of rolling out its next-generation product, the Big IP 5000; believes the BIG IP 5000 can accelerate revenue growth, allowing the company to return to profitability during 2002; also notes that FFIV received a major vote of confidence and financial stability, as Nokia (Nok) recently made a 10% investment in the company with an option to purchase 10% more......................The market anticipates heavy volumes of SIP voice traffic, generated by the Windows Messenger features incorporated in the Microsoft Windows XP operating system (set to launch October 25, 2001). In recent reviews, Windows Messenger has been seen as a "killer app" because of its comprehensive unified and real-time messaging functions in an easy to use interface. As a result, adoption is expected to be rapid. SIP also provides a framework for developing an enriched mobile communications experience in the all-IP third generation (3G) era. It is becoming pervasive as the standard protocol in the 3G wireless world and with the advent of AOL's and Yahoo's standardization on SIP for messaging. Today, service providers (carriers) are looking for ways to tap into the tremendous market potential for terminating PC-based SIP voice traffic to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Carriers offering wholesale termination/origination services have the flexibility to support their customers with new business models such as application hosting and new SIP-based services. As they build SIP-capable networks, carriers will need to guarantee call quality and be able to scale this traffic. F5 Networks is the only IP traffic management vendor to offer a complete solution today.
