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Technology Stocks : Nortel Networks (NT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (2207)	3/13/1999 1:31:00 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14638

Here is another story about Nortel porting its enterprise phone system to an Intel architecture. The article poses the question: "Will the established [telecom equipment vendors] really commit to displace their installed base at lower price points to continue to grow the market?" said Bill McSweeney, president of Coopetive Strategies Group, Clinton, N.J. - IMO, the answer is yes - House will do this - He came to Bay from Intel. This is consistent with Intel's history which shows they were willing to cannabilize one product to succeed in another. It is to Nortel's credit they are willing to do this. kep crn.com Nortel Opens its Low End Switch to NT and Intel By Margie Semilof San Jose, Calif. 4:06 PM EST Thurs., Mar. 11, 1999 .............. Nortel Networks Corp. will waste no time making good on a fresh pledge to port its enterprise phone systems to an Intel Corp. architecture. At an event next week featuring Nortel Chief Executive John Roth, Intel President Craig Barrett, Hewlett Packard Co. Chief Executive Lew Platt, and with a video appearance by Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Gates, Nortel is expected to announce it will port one of its enterprise phone systems to Microsoft's Windows NT operating system and Intel's hardware. The technology will be distributed by HP, said sources familiar with Nortel's plans. The Brampton, Ontario-based telecommunications manufacturer this week said it will broaden its use of the Intel platform for its enterprise voice products. Those products include the Meridian and the Norstar Integrated Communications System, both are available for midsize-business customers. The Norstar is targeted at small to midsize customers and would make the most sense to sell through distributors, one analyst said. The company already has ported several other products on the Intel architecture, including its Open IVR (interactive voice response) and its Symposium Call Center Server. The companies that make legacy phone switches, who have previously dabbled in computer-based or LAN-based telephony, seem to be stepping up their efforts to take this emerging market seriously, analysts said. "The industry is moving in the direction of open systems, open architectures and modular capabilities," said Donald Van Doren, president of Vanguard Communications Corp., a Morris Plains, N.J.-based consulting firm. The traditional telecommunications industry has been on a forced march toward adoption of open standards for the better part of this decade. The appearance of many "open" telephony platforms from start-up companies and data-communications vendors threaten to eat the profits from the traditional telecom vendors' low-end products, also known as key systems. Key systems, such as large private branch exchanges (PBXes), are proprietary and use expensive digital handsets. What is still unclear is what type of handsets will be supported and whether or not the product will support LDAP or Microsoft's Active Directory, said one source. Another question that remains is whether or not these products will actually sell for less than traditional PBXs or key systems. "Will the established [telecom equipment vendors] really commit to displace their installed base at lower price points to continue to grow the market?" said Bill McSweeney, president of Coopetive Strategies Group, Clinton, N.J.