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Enterasys
Networks has successfully transformed itself into a complete
end-to-end networking solution provider for the enterprise
market. The company is offering complete enterprise networking
solutions, chanting the mantra of “security, mobility and
availability.” Akhtar Pasha relates the tale of a networking
major that has now set its sights on the WAN arena.
Early
2000 saw Cabletron Systems, a data networking company, transforming
into four independent operating entities. As part of this,
Enterasys Networks was launched to focus exclusively on the
enterprise networking market. The company had a new business
model SAM (Security, Availability and Mobility) wherein it
would provide end-to-end enterprise security (MSS and IDS),
availability (LAN switching and WAN routing) and mobility
(VPN solutions, VoIP and IP solutions). In August 2001, Enterasys
was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and thereby
became an independent company.
Whereas Cabletron was considered to be a pure box-pusher in
India, Enterasys has become an end-to-end solutions provider.
The company is expected to grow at 40 percent from Rs 268
crore in 2001 to Rs 375 crore in 2002.
The Indian team comprises twenty young and aggressive people.
Of these, ten are in sales and pre-sales and three work in
marketing, all of whom report to the Enterasys country manager,
Uday Birje. The other members of the team take care of finance
and administration. An interesting point is that the core
team of Enterasys has not grown beyond a head count of twenty
since its inception. This despite the high growth enjoyed
by the company. Birje says, “We want to be flexible to
our customers and partners like a start-up. Our philosophy
is to provide high customer satisfaction and be a part of
our partner’s success.”
Complete
solutions
Enteras means ‘whole’ and sys stands for ‘systems’.
True to its name, Enterasys operates as a complete solution
provider for the enterprise market. The blue colour of the
company’s corporate logo indicates stability and aggression.
Enterasys’ mission is to be the preferred vendor to its
customers and partners while building a world-class brand
identity and achieving recognition for its solutions.
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UDAY
BIRJE says that Enterasys provides end-to-end solutions
to make enterprise networks secure, mobile and available
24x7 |
Since
its launch, Enterasys has been well received both by the customers
and partners. In the last one year the company has been successful
in winning business with data centres like Satyam, call centres
like Air InfoTech, Ansals, Flex and Himalayan T Commerce,
oil refineries like Cochin Refineries and ISPs like GNFC and
Applitech.
Birje says, “Before the launch of Enterasys, Cabletron’s
main business was in data networking, focusing on switches
and routers. Earlier we were recognised as a pure product
company.” But with the launch of Enterasys, in the second
half of 2001, a new strategy was formulated
a new strategy based on the SAM model.
“Enterprises
are demanding end-to-end solutions to make sure that their
networks are secure, mobile and available on a 24x7 basis.
Enterprise networking is no longer a box-selling business
and we have to expand and provide a range of solutions that
can adapt to changing environments,” says Birje. The
security part of the SAM model proposes a holistic approach
for enterprise security through intrusion detection systems
and firewalls. The availability model, with a host of products
and in-built capabilities, ensures operational efficiency
and services. The mobility model, piggybacking on wireless
networks and VPNs, provides access to mobile users, be they
in classrooms, conference rooms, temporary offices or just
about anywhere.
LAN
switching strengths
Enterasys grew by an impressive 126 percent from Rs 119 crore
in 1999-00 to Rs 268 crore in 2000-01. Birje says, “2001
was a difficult year. This market is expected to grow at 15
to 20 percent in 2001-02, however we are projecting a higher
rate of growth of 40 percent and expect to attain revenues
worth Rs 375 crore in 2002. Enterasys’ strength is in
LAN switching where it controls 32.8 percent of the market.
Its customers belong to different verticals including petrochemicals,
software services, ISPs and paint manufacturers. The list
includes Reliance, Satyam Infoway, TCS, Cognizant, Haldia
Petrochemicals, Indian Oil, Cochin Refineries, Mahindra BT,
Times of India, Motorola, Goodlass Nerolac and Asian Paints.
The most critical and strategic transformation on the road
from Cabletron to Enterasys has been the company’s product
strategy. It offers data networking solutions to enterprise
customers in association with technology partners like Nokia,
F5 and Siemens. Flagship products include switches, switch
routers, Network Manager, VPNs, wireless products and intrusion
detection products. In addition the company markets firewalls
from Nokia, load balancers from F5 and convergence gateways
from Siemens, to offer a complete solution. However, the bulk
of Enterasys’ revenues still derive from sales of Layer
3 switches.
“We
are upbeat about growth this year since we signed several
huge deals in Q4 2001. We have received multi-crore deals
for LAN switching solutions from the RBI, Canara Bank, State
Bank of Mysore, State Bank of India and GE. It’s worth
noting that we were in direct competition with Cisco for these
contracts,” says Birje.
 Enterasys
is making inroads in the Indian market with its new products.
The company has bagged a Rs 100 crore order to supply Layer
3 switches for BSES Telecom’s MAN project. Its X-Pedition
switch router, spectrum network management software in conjunction
with a fibre backbone that will help BSES in providing Internet
services to its customers in Mumbai.
In the LAN switching category, Enterasys has the Metrix range
of products that cater to the high-end networking market;
X-Pedition addresses the Layer 3 to Layer 7 market; while
Vertical Horizon stackable switches cater to the low-end switching
market. Birje maintains, “We have the upper hand over
the competition as our X-Pedition security router combines
an IP router, a broad range of WAN interfaces, site-to-site
and remote access VPN, and policy-managed distributed firewall
all in a single box.”
“With
the introduction of the XSR-1800 series, Enterasys is addressing
the demand of enterprise customers for highly secure remote
office networking with multiple forward migration options
and investment protection. Branch office routers, firewalls
and VPNs have been viewed in the past as standalone products.”
Security
& mobility
For the enterprise security market the company offers ‘Dragon’
Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and firewall products. “We
have tied-up with Palledion Networks, a company with a strong
focus on security. Our strategy will be to form more such
partnerships in Q2 2002,” says Birje. Enterasys is working
with system integrators like CMC, Ramco Systems and HCL Infosystems.
He adds, “We are targeting the enterprise segment, service
providers, ISPs and software houses.”
In the mobility business, Enterasys has Wireless LAN products
for connecting two LANs separated at a small distance, providing
a high speed 54 Mbps connection. Bangalore Labs and Veritas
are two companies that are using Enterasys Wireless LAN products
for indoor connectivity. Cisco and Lucent are other players
that are addressing this market segment. For the VPN market,
Enterasys has the Aurorean Network Gateway series, that offers
secure and low-cost connectivity.
For Voice over IP (VoIP) and IP telephony, Enterasys has formed
an alliance with Siemens. Both these companies are complementing
each other. Birje says, “We recommend Siemens for voice
solutions to our customers and they do the same for us on
the data side. Since the government has legalised Internet
telephony, we are optimistic about this market segment.”
Partnering
for success
Enterasys has been missing out on one area to date. In WAN
routing it has no product. This market segment is ruled by
Cisco which has a greater than 80 percent share. “In
today’s scenario, WAN environment router, firewall and
VPN products are available separately. Our X-Pedition switching
router (XSR) offers router, firewall and VPN in a single box,”
says Birje, maintaining that an all-in-one box will reduce
maintenance costs and be available at a reasonable price ranging
from $2,000 for an entry level desktop model to $8,000 for
an enterprise level offering. This product will be ideal for
regional and branch offices. “We are targeting 10 percent
of the WAN router market in fiscal 2002-03. Wireless and VPN
solutions are expected to bring in 10 percent of our revenues
while the security business is expected to contribute 8-10
percent,” says Birje.
Enterasys does not sell its products directly in India. Birje
says, “Enterasys success is because of its dedicated
partners. We have two-tier distribution model with Mumbai-based
Nebula Technologies and Websity Infosys. Both of them have
their own channel partners. Additionally we also work with
key system integrators like Wipro Infotech, CMC, CMS, Network
Solutions, L&T, Compaq, Siemens, Ramco Allied Digital,
and Global Telesystems. This year we will appoint more channels
for our new WAN router products to address the Service Provider
and telecom market.”
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