Extreme Adds New Products to Its Lineup

| Apr 16, 2008 | Enterprise Network Systems | Competitive Intelligence Reports

| Analyst: Steven Schuchart

Current Perspective: Positive
Vendor Importance: Very High
Market Impact: Low

Event Summary

April 14, 2008 – Extreme Networks has announced the Summit X350 series, extending the Summit fixed-configuration switch portfolio with value-priced Gigabit connectivity. The new BlackDiamond 8800 “c” series interface and controller modules that deliver backwards-compatible support and provide options to upgrade to power over Ethernet in the field. Extreme has announced the new Altitude wireless LAN access points for 802.11n and outdoor connectivity and the new Summit WM20 controller.

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on Extreme’s release of new core, edge, and wireless solutions because each of these announcements either improve current offerings or bring new capabilities and improve Extreme’s competitive position.

• Vendor Importance: Very high to Extreme Networks because these products represent a concentrated effort to get its business back on track and generate some excitement in regards to the company’s product lines. The announcement adds to its impact in the fixed configuration switching market, WLAN market, and mid-range modular market. In addition, the update to ExtremeXOS crosses all of Extreme’s product lines and provides value to the entire range.

• Market Impact: Low on the WLAN, fixed switching, and modular switching markets because these products will not make a significant impact, even though they will enhance Extreme’s competitive position. Competitors need to be aware of what Extreme is doing, but this isn’t a panic-button release.

Recommended Competitor Actions

• Competitors with value priced stackable fixed configuration Gigabit Ethernet switches should aggressively market against the X350 Series by emphasizing management efficiencies and ease of use in the wiring closet.

• Competitors should look at their own automation and policy engines for data points to mine against Extreme’s entire X fixed line as well as the BlackDiamond modular switches. Many customers already have at least some automation functionality and they should better define what they can do and the flexibility of the solution in terms of competing with Extreme.

• Competitors that attack the market from a performance/density standpoint such as Foundry and Force 10 should consider beefing up their software/feature offerings. As the market becomes more and more commoditized in terms of hardware, the differentiation will come from software features and support, rather than from performance/density.

• WLAN competitors should highlight the broad range of products to support the wireless infrastructure, noting that Extreme only offers the core functionality aspects of the WLAN.

Recommended End User / Customer Actions

• Current Extreme customers should consider the BlackDiamond “c” Series for deployment if they need the automation and benefits that can be derived from ClearFlow.

• Customers that have previously dismissed Extreme need to take a second look. Extreme has been pushing hard on its software features and we expect that trend to continue. Customers may find Extreme’s ExtremeXOS-based offerings much more appealing than in the past.

• Customers that need the occasional no-frills Gigabit Ethernet switch should consider the X350 for deployment.

CLIENTS ONLY

Current Perspective

Competitive Positives and Concerns

Recommended Vendor Actions

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