Nortel creaks into gear on network security, SSL virtual private networks
The company has finally released a hybrid VPN gateway in conjunction with an intrusion detection switch feature. It has also made public a Symantec strategic alliance as part of its broader networking security strategy.
Market Development by Steve Coplan, 16 December 2004
ZigBee Alliance finalizes wireless specification
After two years of development, the organization has delivered. But validation and interoperability testing remain before products based on the low-cost, low-power, short-range wireless technology can receive its stamp of approval.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 16 December 2004
Intel enters into a communications-based R&D pact with AT&T
The move highlights a pair of trends: for Intel more direct dealings with telecommunications carriers rather than OEMs, and for AT&T a continuing move into new Internet technologies.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 15 December 2004
Is Airespace ripe for expansion into wireline conversion?
Having reached critical mass in the wireless LAN market – it is now in third place in the US, ahead of Proxim – the well-funded startup is on the verge of big things. It is well positioned to leverage its market share for future growth.
Impact Report by Max Smetannikov, 14 December 2004
Hifn adds security processor customers in VPN and WiMax markets
With security becoming a check-off item in customer requests, developers are taking it more seriously. The security processor developer has landed broadband VPN developer Encore as well as broadband wireless developer Airspan.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 14 December 2004
3Com pays handsomely to acquire intrusion prevention appliance vendor TippingPoint
Despite what it paid, the company doesn't seem to be expecting much in return. This market is sure to get more competitive, and TippingPoint will have to tailor its gateway for small to medium-sized businesses to benefit from the 3Com channel.
Market Development by Steve Coplan, 13 December 2004
Cisco moves toward network virtualization
The company's definition of virtualization is a tad idiosyncratic – involving massive centralization of both networking and storage resources alongside servers, and the gradual offload of server tasks to routers – but it's now central to its strategy.
Impact Report by Steve Coplan, 10 December 2004
Engim and AirMagnet eliminate WLAN security blind spots
What most WLAN vendors do with a dedicated access point, this team is achieving with a chip. The duo found a way to provide full-time access and security monitoring on a single AP.
Impact Report by Max Smetannikov, 10 December 2004
Conexant snaps up core IP developer Paxonet Communications
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will expand the company's research operations in India by a third, part of an effort to move resources to lower-cost locations, and give it access to Paxonet's semiconductor communications expertise.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 9 December 2004
Tundra Semiconductor debuts first RapidIO switch fabric
The company, long an advocate for the RapidIO platform, has added the Tsi500 to its switch fabric offerings. It helps flesh out the company's line of RapidIO interconnect products at a time when it expects sales to slow a bit.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 8 December 2004
Caymas stakes claim to universal access control, but SSL VPNs stand in the way
The well-funded startup is adamant that its powerful universal access gateway will provide the access control leg of a federated identity system, but in the interim it will find itself contesting accounts with SSL VPNs.
Impact Report by Steve Coplan, 8 December 2004
Swan Labs swoops in on Pivia assets
The company has acquired what remains of layer 7 caching vendor Pivia. Both are focused on application delivery, and Swan gets hold of a decent customer list, but integration with a layer 5 proxy will prove tricky.
Market Development by Steve Coplan, 7 December 2004
BroadLogic closes third-round funding but remains mum on technology details
It claims to have PHY-layer silicon that can provide a fivefold increase in capacity for existing cable operators, allowing them to fend off competition from satellite, phone and wireless players.
Impact Report by Greg Quick, 7 December 2004
Broadcom attacks high-end audio/video segment with latest offering
The company's BCM7411 video processor is a third-generation video decoder/audio processor that supports the latest standards and is designed to facilitate the growth of high-definition digital media over established networks.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 6 December 2004
Ikanos takes leap into VDSL2 market prior to technology standard being set
The company has developed a programmable chipset that it says will support the emerging VDSL2 specification and is backward-compatible with older standards, including VDSL and ADSL.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 6 December 2004
Provigent emerges from stealth mode with funding and product announcements
The developer has already raised $19m in three rounds of funding and has its first product, a system-on-chip offering designed to consolidate wireless backhaul, available for sampling.
Impact Report by Greg Quick, 3 December 2004
Chipcon readies its first integrated ZigBee/802.15.4-compliant chipset
The move comes just weeks after the company announced a joint development alliance with NEC to develop ZigBee modules, signifying that Chipcon is positioning itself for the finalization of the ZigBee standard.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 2 December 2004
Riverbed cuts its teeth in CAD file sharing
Sharing large CAD files simultaneously over long distances is a productivity (and profitability) concern for engineering and architecture firms. It's a niche that has provided momentum for Riverbed out of the gate, but can it be sustained?
Market Development by Steve Coplan, 1 December 2004
Expand Networks' application delivery story starts coming together
The compression specialist may have sat on its laurels for too long, but now it's aiming at the application delivery market and increasingly has a product story to back it up.
Impact Report by Steve Coplan, 29 November 2004
IBM, Sony and Hitachi reveal some details of the Cell, with full disclosure in 2005
The three companies have been working on a new microprocessor, code-named the Cell, and are now providing the first peek. They promise full details at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 29 November 2004
WildPackets reports critical enterprise sales, but rivals are on their way
The former Macintosh LAN analysis vendor is very serious about its enterprise play. A year of confusion over the fate of Sniffer has given its Omni 3 product an opening – but ClearSight Networks is also in the running.
Market Development by Rachel Chalmers, 29 November 2004
Citrix finally makes its SSL VPN move with the purchase of Net6
The acquisition of the startup for $50m will add a content transformation engine that will provide a foothold in IP telephony, as well as an SSL access gateway that will pit Citrix against SSL VPN vendors.
Market Development by Steve Coplan, 24 November 2004
As goes intrusion prevention, so too goes TippingPoint?
The use of intrusion prevention as a means of cutting down on the noise in network traffic created by worms has provided an impetus for adoption. But now that the company is seeing sales climb, it will have to deal with new competitive threats.
Impact Report by Steve Coplan, 23 November 2004
Determina takes a novel approach to squashing worms – locking down memory
The startup has already landed generous funding for its approach that stops worms by enforcing code execution and application integrity. The economic costs of worm attacks provide plenty of low-hanging fruit.
Impact Report by Steve Coplan, 19 November 2004
Broadstorm is reborn as Adaptix and reveals pre-standard mobile WiMax technology
The company has closed its first round of funding and unveiled a product line that includes equipment for point-to-multipoint, non-line-of-sight broadcasting, as well as a patent portfolio to help defend its turf.
Impact Report by Greg Quick, 19 November 2004
Aruba expands into wireline security
The company has expanded its product line to include wireline products rolled out in the name of security. It believes WLAN proliferation created opportunities traditional security vendors can't fill.
Impact Report by Max Smetannikov, 19 November 2004
SBC in IP TV deal with Microsoft
It's no fluke – Microsoft is getting paid for its IP TV software, and SBC plans to test and roll out IP TV Edition software in 2005. But who's that on the horizon – is Yahoo taking aim at the set-top?
Impact Report by Jim Davis, 18 November 2004
NextHop looks to WLAN, layer two software to expand its presence
The routing software vendor has acquired wireless LAN vendor Legra's software assets. It will release layer two software in the next few months as part of a strategy to become a network software provider rather than simply flog protocol modules.
Impact Report by Steve Coplan, 17 November 2004
BitBand tries to translate IP TV experience into VOD market leadership
Its content management system update leverages the company's experience with FastWeb, promising more flexibility for operators. But will it help BitBand stand apart from the video-on-demand crowd?
Impact Report by Jim Davis, 16 November 2004
RF Magic sees growth via alliances with major industry players, targeted markets
The fabless semiconductor company has inked a strategic deal with Comcast, as it seeks additional alliances to promote its IP as part of larger products.
Impact Report by Greg Quick, 16 November 2004
ScanSoft revs up consolidation strategy with three more acquisitions
The purchase of Phonetic Systems will entrench ScanSoft's position in carrier directory assistance, while ART and Rhetorical serve its broader embedded strategy. ScanSoft has paid cash – limiting further consolidation attempts.
Market Development by Steve Coplan, 15 November 2004
AirTight emerges as newest WLAN security player
AirTight is the latest startup to go after the Wi-Fi security holy grail, by leveraging intelligence acquired while planning and monitoring WLANs to solve enterprise-wide security issues.
Impact Report by Max Smetannikov, 15 November 2004
Everstream moves deeper into business analytics and reporting for VOD
Upcoming products will correlate video-on-demand infrastructure data with new reporting capabilities. The company continues to expand business with existing customers, but threats remain.
Impact Report by Jim Davis, 12 November 2004
Netli raises more funding and expands into caching to test Akamai
By incorporating a relatively straightforward feature like caching, the managed service provider has signaled its ambitions to start challenging Akamai in larger enterprise accounts.
Impact Report by Steve Coplan, 11 November 2004
Billions of dollars later, Microsoft deploys software at Comcast
After investing $10bn in cable companies, Microsoft has deployed its Foundation TV software in the set-tops of a major US operator. Now it has a chance to show off interactive, whole-home digital entertainment services in a commercial setting.
Market Development by Jim Davis, 10 November 2004
ScanSoft takes on task of application design framework with its xHMI initiative
The move is aimed at creating a configuration layer for third-party tools and, by extension, a common application design framework. The company is on the right track, but execution is an open question.
Impact Report by Steve Coplan, 10 November 2004
Entone introduces multiroom digital video recorder for IP TV operators
The company looks to complement video-on-demand servers while it extends further into the set-top market. How will it fare against the growing field of competitors? Entone thinks economics are on its side.
Impact Report by Jim Davis, 9 November 2004
Infonet buy underlines BT's latest commitment to diversification
The acquisition brings credibility to the telco's latest plan to transform itself into an information communications technology supplier, using programs such as its Applications Assured Infrastructure. Double or nothing this time around?
Impact Report by William Fellows, 9 November 2004
Agere Systems proposes new service standards for next-generation networks
Application Service Resiliency would enable network service providers to guarantee application services for new business models, and it has gained support from both the ITU and ANSI. It now seeks industry input.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 8 November 2004
Motorola goes with Widevine for IP TV security
Motorola's recently formed telecom group has proved its independence from the cable group – it will use conditional access technology from Widevine instead of internal technology to secure video-over-IP networks.
Impact Report by Jim Davis, 5 November 2004
FlexLight sheds some light on GPON uptake
It's not naming names yet, but it's getting customers in the telco and cable industries, and trials with top-tier players – including PTTs in Europe – may help garner some partners. Better yet, maybe a buyout offer.
Impact Report by Jim Davis, 4 November 2004
Magnolia Broadband seeks to bloom in wireless chipset market
The small startup has big plans as it seeks acceptance for its antenna enhancement technology. It has already landed a pair of major players as test partners and is looking for entry into a wide variety of wireless environments.
Impact Report by Greg Quick, 4 November 2004
Dune Networks survives market downsizing and is prepped for growth
After two years of development, the company has its switch fabric technology ready for production and has paved the way for rapid adoption by working with leading network processor vendors to ensure interoperability.
Impact Report by Greg Quick, 3 November 2004
IBM expands Digital Media Factory with more standards support
New technology for streaming media, support for Adobe XMP, the ability to integrate with Microsoft Streaming server and other enhancements to its digital media framework should also enhance systems integration work.
Impact Report by Jim Davis, 2 November 2004
Packeteer adds monitoring and control agents to its traffic shaping arsenal
The traffic-shaping and QOS specialist has launched an upgraded version of its software (along with new hardware) that incorporates the ability to monitor and control devices, application traffic and hosts via agents.
Market Development by Steve Coplan, 2 November 2004
Motia seeks to make transition to a sustainable company, names new CEO
Malcolm Caraballo has taken the position as CEO of the smart antenna startup. He is charged with the task of moving its focus from engineering to acquiring all the trappings of a viable player, including sales, marketing and shipping products.
Impact Report by Greg Quick, 1 November 2004
Xelerated looks to alliances to expand network processor reach
The company has managed to garner additional investment at a time when many rivals have been forced to close up shop. It believes being flexible and working with others will ensure long-term success.
Impact Report by Greg Quick, 1 November 2004
Virtual network player iPass adds Mobile Automation to its game plan
In a bid to strengthen its underlying virtual network infrastructure to take advantage of enterprise security concerns – as well as to prepare for the inevitable growth of mobile devices within the enterprise – iPass looks to M&A.
Market Development by Tony Rizzo, 29 October 2004
Kontiki improves enterprise pitch with DMS 4.0 release
Version 4.0 of its grid-based delivery system features improved reporting, easier installation and faster publishing to increase the appeal for enterprises. New partnership opportunities are on the horizon, too.
Impact Report by Jim Davis, 29 October 2004
Redline Communications continues wireless growth while waiting for WiMax
The company is inking deals around the globe with diverse customers for its existing AN-50 wireless broadband technology as it prepares to deliver its WiMax technology next year.
Market Development by Greg Quick, 28 October 2004
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