Posts Tagged ‘Crossbeam Systems’

Network Security Renaissance

Friday, March 19th, 2010

ESG’s research indicates that network security spending will be a focus area for 2010. Nearly half (48%) of midsized (less than 1,000 employees) and enterprise (more than 1,000 employees) organizations will invest in network security technologies like firewalls, IDS/IPS, gateways, and threat management solutions.

Yes, all of these technologies are important components of a defense-in-depth security architecture, but they are also quite mature. Why the network security renaissance? Because of:

  1. Equipment consolidation. I see lots of organizations replacing individual firewall appliances with big network security gateway products running virtual firewall instances. This simplifies the network and cuts down on software licensing costs. Good news for Check Point, Crossbeam Systems, and Juniper Networks.
  2. Network upgrades. There is plenty of 10GbE activity in the data center and in network backbone upgrades. Fast network throughput demands new security equipment. Advantage IBM/ISS, McAfee, Sourcefire, and TippingPoint (HP).
  3. Integrated security. Most enterprises are replacing standalone security devices with more integrated threat management solutions.
  4. New threats. The bad guys are way more sophisticated than an IPS device circa 2007. Large organizations need better threat detection, prevention, and mitigation. Furthermore, network security must work as a team with desktop, server, messaging, and other security defenses.

With all of this activity, many networking vendors stand to benefit. Cisco and Juniper have great network security offerings that interoperate with their core networking products. HP will pick up TippingPoint with 3Com, but it needs to build an architecture story quickly. Brocade is working with partners and must continue to make this a core part of its value. Other networking vendors need to make similar moves.

Security gets more complex each day, so state-of-the-art devices may have a short shelf life. Expect continuous investment in network security moving forward. Networking vendors that recognize this will put themselves in the best position.

Tags: , , , , , , , Sourcefire,
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Cisco Quarterly Results Impress Wall St., but Not This Security Analyst

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Cisco announced its financial results today, much to the delight of Wall Street. Cisco revenue beat estimates and posted 8% year-over-year growth. Net income rose 26% over last year. These stellar results prompted Cisco CEO John Chambers to declare, “we are hitting on all cylinders.”

No doubt, these are impressive results, but there is some hidden bad news in all of the confetti and champagne: year-over-year security revenue was flat.

Hmm, I guess one of those cylinders has a little carbon buildup after all. While Cisco security revenue flatlined, other security vendors prospered: Check Point grew revenue by 25% in Q4 2009, Juniper Networks revenue beat Wall Street estimates as did Symantec, and back in October, McAfee announced its biggest financial quarter ever with 8% revenue and 26% net income growth.

Okay, so if other security vendors are growing, why isn’t Cisco? Because:

  1. Cisco is taking its eye off the ball. Let’s face it: security just isn’t as important to Cisco as UCS or Telepresence. The old campaigns around “self-defending networks” are no match for big dollar cloud computing and virtualization schtick.
  2. Sales people chasing multi-million dollar deals have no time for  security sales. Why trip over the dollars to pick up the pennies?
  3. Cisco is walking away from many security battles. In 2009, Cisco canned its Cisco Security Agent (CSA) and put Cisco Monitoring Analysis and Response System (MARS) on maintenance. Cisco’s firewall business is a shell of what it was a few years ago and it really doesn’t have a high-end UTM product to compete with the likes of the Juniper SRX or Crossbeam. What’s going on? Beats me.

Cisco used to give away a lot of security stuff to win bigger dollar networking deals. This strategy, along with IronPort sales, seems to be the only things keeping the security ship afloat.

From a Wall Street perspective, who cares? If Cisco revenue and earnings shine, share prices go up and everyone gets rich. True, but Cisco seems to be willing to shed information security sales in favor of greener pastures. If this is the case, enterprise customers should plan accordingly by assessing their Cisco security portfolio and crafting a “plan B” replacement strategy as a hedge.

Tags: , , , , , Wall Street
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Approximately Half Of All Organizations Will Increase Security and Networking Spending in 2010

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Last week I blogged about ESG’s new data on IT spending. Here is a bit more detail with regard to networking and security.

Nearly half of all mid-market (i.e. 100 to 999 employees) and enterprise (i.e. 1,000 employees or more) companies will increase their spending on network hardware in 2010. Top priorities include WLAN, IP telephony, and WAN optimization.

Fifty-five percent of mid-market and enterprise organizations will increase their spending on information security technologies. In this case, there are differences between the sectors: 48% of mid-market organization will increase their spending on information security technologies while a whopping 61% of enterprises will increase their spending on information technologies. Top priorities are network security, endpoint security, and messaging/web security.

What does this mean for the tech industry?

  1. Cisco, Juniper, Check Point, and McAfee are sitting pretty. These companies have product portfolios that touch most if not all of the high priority spending areas. Cisco has a broad portfolio but its love/hate relationship with security may open the door for others. Check Point certainly has the opportunity to branch out from its firewall bunker. Juniper has the most upside — especially if it introduces its own JUNOS-based WLAN equipment as ESG anticipates. McAfee also has good coverage.
  2. Microsoft could flex its mid-market muscle. While Microsoft networking and security hasn’t had strong enterprise penetration, it certainly plays well in the mid-market. With Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in tow, the data indicates that Microsoft has a great opportunity to bundle in products like ISA Server, Forefront, and even Office Communications Server.
  3. WLAN acquisitions continue. It looks like it will be a good year for 802.11n — likely at the expense of wired access switches. That being the case, Aruba’s market share can’t be ignored. Even though HP already made a technology play, an HP/Aruba marriage could really turn up the heat on Cisco. Meru has great technology and would likely be a value purchase for Brocade or Force 10.
  4. What’s old is new again. Note that two mature categories, network security and endpoint security are top priorities. Why? New threats, malicious code volume, regulatory compliance mandates, etc. This could mean vendor churn and opportunities for aggressive startups like Crossbeam Systems and Palo Alto Networks.
  5. Look for the return of big projects. Many organizations made tactical purchases in 2009 to fill holes. Look for them to move in another direction with more strategic projects. For example, data center networks may be consolidated with large access switches and integrated security devices, while Universities and Healthcare organizations rip and replace old WLAN gear. ESG anticipates WAN optimization consolidation as well as users settling on a single vendor and architecture. Vendors should think architecture and strategy, not sales transactions.

All in all, the data points to more positive momentum. A good year for vendors to re-engage with customers, build long-term partnerships, and help them move beyond the Status Quo.

Tags: 802.11n, , , , , endpoint security, , , , network security, Palo Alto Networks, WLAN
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Brocade Could Go On a Shopping Spree

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

I never really believed the rumors about HP buying Brocade. No disrespect to Brocade, I just thought that HP’s interest was really in Ethernet and IP networking and not Fibre Channel.

Will another company acquire Brocade? I can’t think of any obvious takers. The financial analyst rumors that Juniper would buy Brocade were ridiculous and obviously spread by someone who doesn’t know Juniper. IBM and Dell? I don’t think either company is gung-ho to get back into the networking game. Besides, both companies already have a Brocade OEM relationship in place.

Since Brocade is likely to remain independent, my advice would be to prepare for the long-haul by filling in product gaps with innovative startups and doubling down on its direct sales and distribution channel resources.

If I were in charge of M&A at Brocade, here are a few areas that would top my Christmas shopping list.

1. WLAN. Yes, I know Foundry has a wireless offering but I can’t imagine that it is selling a lot of equipment. If Brocade’s board can stomach another big deal, Aruba Networks would give the company an immediate WLAN leadership position where it could upsell other switches and routers. If Aruba is too rich for Brocade’s taste, Meru Networks has great technology and would probably sell for a song.

2. Network security. The pickings are slim here but one interesting play might be Crossbeam Systems. Crossbeam is one of a few high-end “Network Security Super Gateways” (NSSG) and has been very successful in the service provider and ISP markets. This could help Brocade in both areas and also bring an instant relationship with Crossbeam OEMs like Check Point and ISS (now IBM). This would also complement Brocade’s data center strength.

3. Security management. Like Aruba, Brocade could reach for the stars and pick up market leader ArcSight but this would cost over $1 billion. Again, if this price is a bit too scary, Brocade could choose networking-savvy Nitro Security or feisty LogRhythm. Any of these choices could give Brocade a Cisco MARS alternative.

4. WAN optimization/Application Delivery. Brocade has a pretty good portfolio of Application Delivery Controllers but it could become a market upstart by grabbing A10 Networks. A10′s economic value proposition could be extremely attractive for companies with large and growing web applications and A10′s founder has roots at Foundry. This could also leverage Brocade’s data center prowess. On the WAN optimization side, SilverPeak has some strength in data center-to-data center networking and is likely available.

5. Network management. Lots of niche players here, too many to name. My advice would be to work closely with CA.

Brocade could stand firm as it has the Fibre Channel market pretty much locked up but Cisco, Dell, and even HP have internal agendas that probably favor FCoE over time. Nevertheless, FC isn’t going away any time soon. This gives Brocade a data center beachhead to build from. In this regard, Crossbeam and A10 Networks would definitely be a short-term fit while the others mentioned above would provide instant diversification.

In my humble opinion a creative M&A or aggressive partnering strategy would be extremely useful for Brocade in 2010 and beyond.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , Meru Networks
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Switch to our mobile site