To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (2768 ) 5/25/1999 12:59:00 PM From: Paul Fine Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 14638
Here is narrative re recent Dell'Oro report on NT's leadership last qtr in overall Layer 3 market: "Separately, another new study shows how networking companies can use quarterly figures to suit their needs. Competitors Cabletron Systems and Nortel Networks both used figures from the most recent quarterly report from market researcher the Dell'Oro Group to show their strength in the hotly contested market for advanced switching equipment, often referred to as "Layer 3" devices. Cabletron claimed the lead in ports shipped for the "modular" category with 31.9 percent of the market, with Nortel coming in second at 27.7 percent, and Cisco Systems relegated to third with 14.5 percent. The number of ports shipped in the first quarter totaled 448,000, according to the Dell'Oro study. Struggling Cabletron may be benefiting from favorable pricing, since the company has sacrificed margins to gain share, according to industry observers. "They're really aggressive on pricing," said Dell'Oro analyst Greg Collins. "If you look at the company in general, it's the one segment that's been doing well for them." Nortel, in turn, highlighted its lead in total "Layer 3" revenue, boasting a 24 percent share, or $84 million of a $343 million market for the quarter, according to Dell'Oro. Cisco was second with $78.5 million in revenue and Cabletron claimed third with $55.7 million in revenue, according to the study. Cisco is at a disadvantage in the Dell'Oro study because its most likely candidate, the Catalyst 6000 line of switching devices, does not have Layer 3 capability for every port." Paul