Formed in March 2000 as a spin-off of Cabletron Systems, Enterasys Networks is a networking company catering almost exclusively to large enterprises. The company designs and manufactures all types of networking equipment including routers, switches, and 802.11 wireless access points and controllers.
In addition to hardware, the company also builds software for managing and securing enterprise-class networks such as Intrusion Prevention System, Network Access Control and Security Information Management.
Enterasys Networks, Inc. was founded on August 6,
2001 when it officially completed its spin-off from
Cabletron Systems, a network tech-vendor. Cabletron
owned a trusted name in the networking business, but
in the late 1990s, the company was having issues.
Employee retention in a world full of stock options
and startups was becoming difficult. To make matters
worse, each new product to enter R&D would face
numerous feature requests from various internal
divisions— and not everyone would get what they
wanted. In the middle of 1999, the company began to
make changes. Cabletron became a holding company,
spinning off four subsidiaries— Enterasys (enterprise
networking), Riverstone Networks (service providers)
in Santa Clara, Calif., GlobalNetwork Technology
Systems (network consulting) in Newington, N.H.,
and Aprisma Management Technologies (software) in
Durham, N.H. By going through the split, Cabletron
hoped to let the new companies tackle product
development with the focus and zeal of startups,
making them better able to retain workers (employees
received pre-IPO stock options) and helping them
become more competitive and more valuable to
shareholders.
Enterasys was Cabletron’s largest division, making $793 million in fiscal 2001 revenue.
Combining the energy and drive of a start-up with the award-winning technology and global
resources of an industry leader, Enterasys Networks™ develops solutions exclusively tailored for
enterprise-class customers. Enterasys is headquartered in Rochester, N. H., has approximately
2,300 employees, and is led by Henry Fiallo, the company’s Chairman and CEO. The
company’s strong market focus gives it the ability to quickly turn technology shifts into best-ofbreed,
real-world solutions. In fact, all of Enterasys’ products and services share the common
goal of turning information technology into a significant business advantage. In today's Internet
economy, one of the most important advantages is being able to deliver critical content— be it
email, web content or business-enhancing applications such as SAP, distance learning, VoIP,
etc.— to users wherever and whenever they need it.
Enterasys' business can be divided into four areas: switching, wireless, security, and software
and services. Switching is by far the largest segment, accounting for 78% of total revenue during
the second quarter of 2001. The most important product line is Enterasys' Layer 3 switch router,
called X-Pedition, which is used in wide area networks. The company ranks No. 2, with 15% of
the overall Layer 3 market, behind Cisco Systems' 34% market share. It has the highest market
share, 27%, in the modular version, ahead of competitors such as Cisco, Extreme Networks,
Foundry Networks, and Nortel Networks. Enterasys also makes wireless LAN equipment using
the 802.11 standard. In April 2001, the company introduced a high-speed wireless LAN product
that transmits data at 54 Mbps. This division accounts for 7% of total revenue. The security
products division produces firewalls and VPNs and accounts for only 4% of total revenue. The
rest of the company's revenue comes from services and software.
Only Enterasys has pinpointed network Security, Availability and Mobility as the key
requirements for global enterprises, and has the proven solutions to consistently meet these three
goals. With more than 15 years of technological development and innovation, Enterasys has
extensive experience and an understanding of what enterprise customers need to further improve
the way they do business. As a result, Enterasys is fast becoming the solution of choice for IT
managers and CIOs.
Enterasys Response: Universities may opt to leverage combinations of technologies that
best match their business objectives. For example, in new construction – upgrading to
Enterasys policy-enabled switches (A) would allow for granular control over applications
(forward/deny, rate limiting, etc) and this can be assigned by user group. For legacy
network edge, upgrades to key network aggregation switches (A) can provide similar
controls.
Combining Enterasys Network Access Control (NAC) (B) with either Enterasys or legacy
switches can provide context to whether network systems are running applications not in
compliance with established organizational standards. For example, network-based
assessment of end-points might find a group printer that has been compromised and
hosting copyrighted content.
Enterasys Dragon Network and Host Intrusion Detection/Prevention (C) technologies can
be deployed to monitor network packet data for connections to unauthorized peer-to-peer
networks or detection of changes to key servers such as the installation of unauthorized
peer-to-peer hosting services.
Market Requirements and Challenges
Education ? Establish fast and secure network connections that would put an end to student’s
competition for network sockets
? Complete installation in short time with minimum disruption to the education process
? Obtain the lowest cost possible; leave room for further network expansion at a minimum
cost
? Procure compatibility with existing network architecture
? Preserve integrity of historical campus buildings
Financial Services ? Provide 24x7 secure connection to intranet and internal databases and enhance resource
utilization via total mobility
? Enhance enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management
? Insure high availability of critical network resources
Government ? Improve government services via better network connectivity and effective sharing of
resources
? Seek the most cost- effective solutions
? Keep historic buildings intact
? Preserve the security of the classified data and yet procure instant access to authorized
entities
? Improve efficiency of the government staff
Healthcare ? Procure instant access to critical medical data and thus improve ability to save lives
? Expedite remote access to medical data
? Insure security of patient data
Manufacturing ? Improve enterprise management via sharing of information and e-learning
? Better utilize enterprise resource management
? Improve employee lifestyle and offer mobile data access
Company Classification Ability to
Execute
Strengths Threats
Cisco
Systems
Market Leader High Controls 30% market share for
access points, 29% for network
cards according to Dell’Oro
Established industry name,
networking industry
dominance. May bolster its
group. Aiming for market share
of 40-70%.6
wireless business by
acquisitions.
Nortel
Networks
Second Market
Leader
High Has 20% of the global wireless
equipment market, an increase of
7% since 1998.7
Same as Cisco
Extreme
Networks
Visionary Medium Broadband networks; leverages
Ethernet and IP protocols to
deliver highly scalable network
solutions.
This visionary player may
steal wireless market share as
its innovative solutions may
modify or obliterate current
wireless industry standards.
Enterasys
Networks
Challenger to
both market
leaders
High Wireless accounts for 7% of
total revenue. In April 2001,
introduced a high-speed wireless
LAN product that transmits data
at 54 Mbps.
The company has a good
customer base and a high
degree of flexibility that may
help it adjust its offerings once
an industry standard arises
In addition to hardware, the company also builds software for managing and securing enterprise-class networks such as Intrusion Prevention System, Network Access Control and Security Information Management.
Enterasys Networks, Inc. was founded on August 6,
2001 when it officially completed its spin-off from
Cabletron Systems, a network tech-vendor. Cabletron
owned a trusted name in the networking business, but
in the late 1990s, the company was having issues.
Employee retention in a world full of stock options
and startups was becoming difficult. To make matters
worse, each new product to enter R&D would face
numerous feature requests from various internal
divisions— and not everyone would get what they
wanted. In the middle of 1999, the company began to
make changes. Cabletron became a holding company,
spinning off four subsidiaries— Enterasys (enterprise
networking), Riverstone Networks (service providers)
in Santa Clara, Calif., GlobalNetwork Technology
Systems (network consulting) in Newington, N.H.,
and Aprisma Management Technologies (software) in
Durham, N.H. By going through the split, Cabletron
hoped to let the new companies tackle product
development with the focus and zeal of startups,
making them better able to retain workers (employees
received pre-IPO stock options) and helping them
become more competitive and more valuable to
shareholders.
Enterasys was Cabletron’s largest division, making $793 million in fiscal 2001 revenue.
Combining the energy and drive of a start-up with the award-winning technology and global
resources of an industry leader, Enterasys Networks™ develops solutions exclusively tailored for
enterprise-class customers. Enterasys is headquartered in Rochester, N. H., has approximately
2,300 employees, and is led by Henry Fiallo, the company’s Chairman and CEO. The
company’s strong market focus gives it the ability to quickly turn technology shifts into best-ofbreed,
real-world solutions. In fact, all of Enterasys’ products and services share the common
goal of turning information technology into a significant business advantage. In today's Internet
economy, one of the most important advantages is being able to deliver critical content— be it
email, web content or business-enhancing applications such as SAP, distance learning, VoIP,
etc.— to users wherever and whenever they need it.
Enterasys' business can be divided into four areas: switching, wireless, security, and software
and services. Switching is by far the largest segment, accounting for 78% of total revenue during
the second quarter of 2001. The most important product line is Enterasys' Layer 3 switch router,
called X-Pedition, which is used in wide area networks. The company ranks No. 2, with 15% of
the overall Layer 3 market, behind Cisco Systems' 34% market share. It has the highest market
share, 27%, in the modular version, ahead of competitors such as Cisco, Extreme Networks,
Foundry Networks, and Nortel Networks. Enterasys also makes wireless LAN equipment using
the 802.11 standard. In April 2001, the company introduced a high-speed wireless LAN product
that transmits data at 54 Mbps. This division accounts for 7% of total revenue. The security
products division produces firewalls and VPNs and accounts for only 4% of total revenue. The
rest of the company's revenue comes from services and software.
Only Enterasys has pinpointed network Security, Availability and Mobility as the key
requirements for global enterprises, and has the proven solutions to consistently meet these three
goals. With more than 15 years of technological development and innovation, Enterasys has
extensive experience and an understanding of what enterprise customers need to further improve
the way they do business. As a result, Enterasys is fast becoming the solution of choice for IT
managers and CIOs.
Enterasys Response: Universities may opt to leverage combinations of technologies that
best match their business objectives. For example, in new construction – upgrading to
Enterasys policy-enabled switches (A) would allow for granular control over applications
(forward/deny, rate limiting, etc) and this can be assigned by user group. For legacy
network edge, upgrades to key network aggregation switches (A) can provide similar
controls.
Combining Enterasys Network Access Control (NAC) (B) with either Enterasys or legacy
switches can provide context to whether network systems are running applications not in
compliance with established organizational standards. For example, network-based
assessment of end-points might find a group printer that has been compromised and
hosting copyrighted content.
Enterasys Dragon Network and Host Intrusion Detection/Prevention (C) technologies can
be deployed to monitor network packet data for connections to unauthorized peer-to-peer
networks or detection of changes to key servers such as the installation of unauthorized
peer-to-peer hosting services.
Market Requirements and Challenges
Education ? Establish fast and secure network connections that would put an end to student’s
competition for network sockets
? Complete installation in short time with minimum disruption to the education process
? Obtain the lowest cost possible; leave room for further network expansion at a minimum
cost
? Procure compatibility with existing network architecture
? Preserve integrity of historical campus buildings
Financial Services ? Provide 24x7 secure connection to intranet and internal databases and enhance resource
utilization via total mobility
? Enhance enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management
? Insure high availability of critical network resources
Government ? Improve government services via better network connectivity and effective sharing of
resources
? Seek the most cost- effective solutions
? Keep historic buildings intact
? Preserve the security of the classified data and yet procure instant access to authorized
entities
? Improve efficiency of the government staff
Healthcare ? Procure instant access to critical medical data and thus improve ability to save lives
? Expedite remote access to medical data
? Insure security of patient data
Manufacturing ? Improve enterprise management via sharing of information and e-learning
? Better utilize enterprise resource management
? Improve employee lifestyle and offer mobile data access
Company Classification Ability to
Execute
Strengths Threats
Cisco
Systems
Market Leader High Controls 30% market share for
access points, 29% for network
cards according to Dell’Oro
Established industry name,
networking industry
dominance. May bolster its
group. Aiming for market share
of 40-70%.6
wireless business by
acquisitions.
Nortel
Networks
Second Market
Leader
High Has 20% of the global wireless
equipment market, an increase of
7% since 1998.7
Same as Cisco
Extreme
Networks
Visionary Medium Broadband networks; leverages
Ethernet and IP protocols to
deliver highly scalable network
solutions.
This visionary player may
steal wireless market share as
its innovative solutions may
modify or obliterate current
wireless industry standards.
Enterasys
Networks
Challenger to
both market
leaders
High Wireless accounts for 7% of
total revenue. In April 2001,
introduced a high-speed wireless
LAN product that transmits data
at 54 Mbps.
The company has a good
customer base and a high
degree of flexibility that may
help it adjust its offerings once
an industry standard arises
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