Trapeze Pulls Out All the Stops for Its “NonStop Wireless” Strategy

April 22, 2008 -- Trapeze Networks has announced new hardware and software capabilities that enable “NonStop Wireless.” The NonStop Wireless announcement includes the following five elements: Mobility System Software MSS version 7.0 with advanced virtual controller cluster capabilities, WiFi certification for the MP-432 802.11n high-feature access point, the MX-2800 wireless controller with capacity for 12,000 active clients, RingMaster version 7.0 Wireless Management Tool Suite with 802.11n planning and deployment, and updates to the RM-200 scalable wireless management appliance capable of managing 5,000 access points and 1,000 wireless controllers in a single turnkey appliance.

Analytical Summary

► Current Perspective: Positive on Trapeze Networks’ announcement of its NonStop Wireless strategy, because the combination of the five highlighted elements works together to make Trapeze a more compelling solution for larger enterprises. While there are still some product gaps and OEM concerns, these announcements should resonate with large enterprise prospects.

► Vendor Importance: High to Trapeze Networks, because the company’s ability to scale to large enterprises has always been a competitive sticking point. With ramped-up controllers and management appliances, as well as clustering capabilities, Trapeze can go after a much broader base of customers with its “NonStop Wireless” message.

► Market Impact: High on the enterprise WLAN market, because any time a company makes this much of a concerted effort to move up market it poses a competitive threat to the incumbents. Competitors need to be ready with a marketing response and quickly match or beat Trapeze’s performance numbers.

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Siemens Enterprise Communications Adds Unified Communications to Contact Center

April 21, 2008 — Siemens Communications introduced the OpenScape Contact Center (OCC), packaging voice and customer interaction software with its unified communications software foundation. OCC is based on HiPath ProCenter Enterprise, coupled with the OpenScape UC Server, Voice Portal, and telephony applications. The solution has increased scalability (supporting up to 7,500 active agents), provides enhanced interaction tools, and is telephony independent. OCC will be generally available in June 2008.

Analytical Summary

► Current Perspective: Positive on Siemens Enterprise Communications’ OpenScape Contact Center, because it provides functions and features that should make the solution more competitive against other large contact center solutions. OpenScape Contact Center combines contact center call distribution and universal desktop with Siemens’ Voice Portal and OpenScape Unified Communications, creating a holistic contact center environment. However, Siemens has not yet proven that OpenScape Contact Center’s unified communications capabilities create a clean and streamlined collaboration environment between the contact center agents and experts.

► Vendor Importance: Moderate to Siemens, because freed from the confines of the HiPath PBXs, OpenScape Contact Center provides expanded market opportunities. In addition, OpenScape Contact Center’s flexible scalability will enable Siemens to market it to mid-sized contact centers as well as large contact centers. Finally, OpenScape Contact Center provides a new direction for Siemens Enterprise Communications’ contact center, creating an open, flexible solution, capable of being used on a wide variety of telephony systems and introducing state-of-the-art unified communications features to contact center environments.

► Market Impact: Moderate on the contact center market, because OpenScape Contact Center provides more unified communications functionality than many competing contact center solutions. Although it provides new communication channels between contact center agents and experts, it does not provide an environment that guarantees collaboration and at the same time protects the experts’ time.

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Extreme Adds New Products to Its Lineup

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.

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.

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Analyst Show Flashes from RSA Conference 2008

Current Analysis analysts were at RSA Conference this year and wrote a series of intelligence reports on announcements made there. Clients with subscriptions to the respective modules can read the full Show Update reports on our CurrentCOMPETE™ Intelligence Portal by following the Client Access links.

Analyst Show Flashes, like those in this newsletter, are available to all visitors at no charge. In them, the analysts provide their perspective on the relative merits of the announcements as well as its importance to the vendor and the market as a whole. Click here to read all the RSA Conference Analyst Show Flashes