Online Video Beneficiaries: F5

The Online Video momentum is driving growth and activities in the networking equipment and infrastructure industry. 3Com just reaped the benefits in form of a Private Equity transaction. Akamai is another strong beneficiary.

This post will look at the topic from the application delivery networking angle. There is an increasing use of web-based business applications and use of PDAs, smartphones, and notebook computers to access multimedia applications over the Internet. A major beneficiary of this trend is F5. >>>

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Online Video Beneficiaries: Akamai

In my series on Online Video Beneficiaries, I have covered the network players like Cisco. In this post, I will look at the application acceleration angle. Gartner estimates that the market for application acceleration will exceed $3 billion by 2010. There has been a meteoric rise of online traffic with the online broadcast of live events and the popularity of devices like iPods and iPhones and the resulting boom in downloading as well as uploading of music and videos. A major beneficiary of this surge in online traffic and multimedia activity that requires fast and reliable transfers is Akamai.

Akamai Technologies(NASDAQ: AKAM) is the leading content delivery network (CDN) provider that accelerates the delivery of content and applications over the Internet. With the Internet playing a major role in everyday life and applications, Akamai’s business is booming. Its annual sales in 2006 went up 51% to $428.7 million and have more than doubled over 2004. It acquired one of its biggest competitors, Speedera in June, 2005. It followed this up with Nine Systems in December 2006 to build out its video serving capability. In March 2007, it acquired Netli to expand its application acceleration technology as well as its presence in the Software-As-A-Service (SAAS) market. In April 2007, it bought Red Swoosh to enhance its distributed Internet presence. >>>

Online Video Beneficiaries: Foundry

I have recently covered Cisco, 3Com, Alcatel, Juniper, Nortel, Polycom, and Extreme in a series of posts on Online Video Beneficiaries. Here is another one in the series, on Foundry.

Foundry Networks, Inc.(NASDAQ: FDRY) is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing, security, and Web traffic management solutions.

An increasing number of enterprises are shifting to converged environments in which voice, video, and data are carried by the same network. This, coupled with the growing number of high-bandwidth applications such as online video, are pushing the demand for greater bandwidth. 10-Gigabit Ethernet is essential to this need for additional bandwidth and Foundry is a pioneer in this field. It introduced the first Layer 3 10GbE switch in 2001. Today its 10GbE offerings include the EdgeIron product family, FastIron Edge and X Series, FastIron SuperX Series, BigIron RX, ServerIron, NetIron XMR Series and NetIron MLX Series. The two families of MPLS routers, the NetIron MLX and NetIron XMR were introduced in 2006 to expand its presence in the Service Provider market and by the end of the year they accounted for 13% of total revenues. >>>

Online Video Beneficiaries: Alcatel?

In the past few posts, we have looked at Cisco and other networking players in the series of posts on Online Video Beneficiaries. In this post, we will look at Alcatel-Lucent.

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications, and services with revenues of €18.3 billion in 2006. The merger between Alcatel and Lucent happened in December, 2006 and provided Alcatel with a foothold in the US market and an expanded product portfolio as well as a combined treasure of 25,000 patents. It also acquired Nortel’s universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) operations in January 2007. Alcatel-Lucent is organized around five business groups: Wireless, Wireline, Convergence, Enterprise, and Services Business Groups. >>>

Online Video Beneficiaries: Juniper

The increasing IP traffic due to Online Video, IPTV, and an increasing reliance on the network in enterprises is driving the growth of the network infrastructure players like Cisco and Juniper. In this post, I will look at Juniper’s standing as an online video beneficiary.

Juniper Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:JNPR) is a leader in high-performance networking with net revenues of $2.3 billion in 2006. Its business is organized into three operating segments: Infrastructure, Service Layer Technologies (SLT), and Service.

Its Infrastructure products include M-Series for edge networks, T-Series for core IP infrastructures, and E-Series for carrier-class routing, broadband subscriber management, and IP services. It introduced the MX series in early 2007 to address the carrier Ethernet market and the IPTV trend. In Q2 2007, it rolled out the T1600 core router which uses less power and has more capacity. With this product, Juniper is expected to gain back its market share in core routers. It is estimated to have around 30% market share in core routers with Cisco leading with 60%. >>>

Online Video Beneficiaries: Nortel

Over the recent years, the increasing use of mobile video, high definition television, video on demand, peer-to-peer connectivity and other web-based, network-aware applications has seen a dramatic increase in the demand for more bandwidth. One network player that aims to capitalize on this trend is Nortel. In my earlier posts on online video beneficiaries, I have examined Cisco, 3com, Polycom, and Extreme.

Nortel Networks Corporation (NYSE: NT) with revenues of $11.4 billion in 2006 is a global supplier of networking solutions to both service providers and enterprises. It is a leader in delivering VoIP and Wide Area Networking to carrier customers, holds the number-two position in providing carriers with optical equipment, is the number-one provider of total enterprise telephony lines, and is the second-largest provider of IP business telephony. Its business is organized in four segments: Carrier Networks (CN), Enterprise Solutions (ES) Global Services (GS), and Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN). >>>

Online Video Beneficiaries: Extreme?

The increasing popularity of YouTube and its compatriot social video sharing sites is driving the online video trend. Other trends like video conferencing and IPTV are also contributing to the increasing video traffic. The enormous amount of video traffic and the need for higher bandwidth is putting networking equipment players like Cisco in high gear. In my earlier posts on Online Video Beneficiaries, I have covered Polycom, Cisco, and 3Com. In this post, I will look at Extreme’s standing as an online video beneficiary.

Extreme Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXTR) is a leading provider of Ethernet solutions. Its core product lines include Summit, BlackDiamond, and Alpine. Established in 1996, Extreme provides converged network solutions that support voice, video, and data over wired and wireless infrastructures. Its security solution combines secure switches from its Sentriant product line with CLEAR-Flow, a security rules engine. This combination is meant to enable unified wired and wireless network access and IP Telephony in a secure environment.

On the financial front, Extreme reported net revenues of $342.8 million in fiscal year 2007, a decrease of 4.4% over fiscal 2006 with net revenues of $358.6 million. Net loss including share-based compensation expense of $6.2 million was $14.2 million, a decrease from net income of $8.5 million in fiscal 2006. Restructuring charges amounted to $4 million and research and development expenses were $67.1 million in fiscal 2007. >>>

Online Video Beneficiaries: 3Com?

On the sixth anniversary of 9/11, we are reminded that travel has become a nightmare, and online video conferencing is a booming trend, and the increasing video traffic is fattening the networking equipment players. In my earlier posts on Online Video Beneficiaries, I have covered Polycom and Cisco. In this post, I will look at 3Com’s standing as an online video beneficiary.

3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS) is a leading provider of secure, converged voice, and data networking solutions for enterprises. 3Com has a great history of innovation and has more than 1,400 U.S. and 100 Chinese issued patents that cover a wide range of networking technologies. Readers can check out my previous post on 3Com’s opportunity to leverage its patents.

At one point in late 1990s, 3Com was close on the heels of Cisco. However, today with revenue of $1.26 billion compared to Cisco’s $34.9 billion in 2007, it is a mere shadow of its former self. My interview with Eric Benhamou analyzes what went wrong at 3Com. 3com’s exiting the high-end enterprise business turned out to be a suicidal mistake. >>>

Online Video Beneficiaries: Cisco

The $1.65 billion acquisition of then newly launched YouTube by Google in October 2006 highlights the market’s bullishness about the potential of Online Video. While Google hasn’t yet succeeded in monetizing YouTube, there certainly are other players who have, Cisco being one of the most key ones. All that video traffic needs to travel through networks, and guess who powers the networks?

Furthermore, popularity of innovative devices like iPods, iPhones, X-boxes, and smartphones that can browse, download, or host video have changed forever the way people watch video. Even the most popular TV shows are posted on the Web within moments of their broadcast. >>>

Online Video Beneficiaries: Polycom

Driven by globalization, telecommuting, and offshoring, an enterprise is no longer limited to one building or one geography. With this ever increasing distance between people working in an enterprise, there is a growing stress on applications that facilitate collaboration. Applications like video conferencing are critical today for meetings with offshore employees or even employees on the move. In this post, I will analyze Polycom’s standing as an online video beneficiary.

Related posts of interest can be found here and here. Note, enterprise video conferencing is not the only trend driving the online video market momentum. The advent of YouTube and its compatriots have set in motion a rollicking online entertainment industry that has also been a major contributor to the phenomenon. >>>