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Technology Stocks : Xylan -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: WTSherman who wrote (3403)	11/10/1998 1:27:00 AM
From: pat mudge	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4135

Something was said at today's AEA financial conference here in San Diego that might be worth throwing out for discussion. When asked about the position of the company against its competition, there was some mention of Alcatel buying Packet Engines and how their products didn't over-lap a lot so there wasn't too much threat. That led to Cisco's strained relationship with Alcatel and then to a more general statement regarding the tier one equipment makers --- Nortel, Alcatel, Lucent, Siemens --- and how they perceive Cisco as the one to beat. If this is the case, it implies Xylan could benefit. Going one step further --- and this wasn't discussed, but it's definitely crossed my mind --- wouldn't one of those tier one players be interested in XYLAN as a defensive move against the common enemy? I'm not necessarily suggesting buyout, but perhaps a strategic partnership? On their website you'll notice the following list of partners: xylan.com . . . Xylan and its partners, including Lucent, IBM, Unisys, Alcatel, and others, have thousands of sales and service offices worldwide to offer you the service and support you need. I know IBM and Alcatel are OEM partners. What's the status of the others? Are they strategic and, if not, should they be? Just trying to stimulate debate. Later -- Pat