It has been just under a year since networking specialist vendor Ciena set-up its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi. In that time, the vendor has managed to win quite a few IT projects, build its own channel from scratch and managed to launch its channel programme.
Last year saw a lot of vendor consolidation happening in the networking industry and Ciena didn’t miss out as the company was selected as the successful bidder of Nortel’s Optical and Carrier Ethernet assets.
Mashood Ahmad, Regional MD at Ciena Middle East, says 2009 was a very fruitful year for Ciena in the Middle East as the company did not just establish its first regional office in Abu Dhabi, but also won its first projects here.
Ahmad adds that the interest the company has seen in the region shows that there’s an inherent drive for best-in-class solutions among both telecoms operators and enterprise organisations in the Middle East, which makes the region an area of significant potential for Ciena’s offering. “This year we’re planning to build on this initial momentum and expand our customer footprint in the Middle East, while growing the Ciena brand in the region beyond its current position,” he says. “We are also working towards opening another office in the Middle East, which will join the regional headquarters in Abu-Dhabi.”
Nortel acquisition
Having been selected as the successful bidder of Nortel’s Optical and Carrier Assets after the Canadian vendor filed for bankruptcy, 2010 look set to be a busy year for Ciena. Ciena’s clients and channel partners will be looking forward to see how the vendor will integrate the Nortel Optical and Carrier product line with its own solutions.
Ahmad says although it may be too early to comment on the impending acquisition, globally, this acquisition will position Ciena for faster growth by giving it greater geographic reach, broader customer relationships and a deeper portfolio of solutions. “Once closed, the transaction will create a leading supplier focused solely on converged Ethernet innovation – with a more comprehensive, industry portfolio of solutions that address growing segments of the market,” he says. “This includes long-haul and metro optical Ethernet transport, optical and packet switching, as well as network and service automation.”
He adds that in terms of the activity related to the acquisition in 2010, Ciena has the integration to think of, which the company recognises as priority given the scale of the acquisition and is planning accordingly. “We’re executing on comprehensive and aggressive integration plan, and expect the transaction to close in the first calendar quarter,” he says. “We also expect the transaction to be significantly accretive to our financial results in 2011.”
Aside from the acquisition, Ciena is tailoring preparing to form OEM alliances with data storage vendors as has been the norm with most networking vendors. Ahmad says while Ciena doesn’t currently have any formal OEM alliances in this area, the company works with some of the leading storage and data centre specialists globally. According to Ahmad, these partners are companies such as Brocade, EMC Corporation, Hitachi Data Systems and IBM.
Product integration
Although customers are anxiously awaiting for Ciena to integrate its own product offerings with that of Nortel’s, details on when exactly this will happen are still murky at the moment.
Ahmad says the company intends to provide more specific information on its long-term combined portfolio vision, including short-term priorities, once it gets to close on the deal – which is expected in the first calendar quarter of 2010. “In general, we believe the companies’ portfolios are largely complementary – there are areas where Nortel is strong, like long-haul transport, and areas where Ciena is strong, like optical switching,” he notes.
He adds that because Ciena’s addressable market is shaped more by the networking needs of our customers than by their size, the vendor will not limit its offerings going forward to a specific market segment.
Ahmad says in the financial services sector, for example, even the smallest trading houses often require fast and reliable optical networking solutions, which is of course Ciena’s sweet spot. That said, Ahmad adds that the majority of Ciena’s business customers are large and mid-sized organisations rather than SMBs.
Route to market
Ciena leverages a variety of sales models, depending on variables like customer needs or geographic region. In the Middle East, the networking vendor is typically approaching the market through a hybrid model.
Ahmad says Ciena’s approach to channel partnerships is formalised through its global BizConnect Partner Programme. He explains that the programme offers Ciena’s best-of-breed network solutions and world-class technical support to a carefully selected community of strategic partners, enabling them to deliver maximum value to customers worldwide. “Given the nature of our business and the customer intimacy required to sell our solutions to network operators and enterprises, our channel development activities in the Middle East focus on forming meaningful, strategic partnerships with strong, local organisations in the region,” he says.
He points out that with regards to certification, Ciena recently announced the industry’s first Carrier Ethernet Certification Programme, which is solely focused on Carrier Ethernet technology as opposed to specific vendors or products.
He says the courses address the growing market demand for knowledgeable professionals able to design, build and manage next generation networks. “These courses are offered in traditional classrooms, online, as well as on-site at customer locations through an international network of partner educational institutions,” he says.
Looking ahead, Ahamd says on a global level, the majority of Ciena’s business is traditionally with tier one and tier two telecoms service providers, and this has also been the dominant theme in the first year of operating in the Middle East region. “We are also very successful in selling to the government and enterprise market, and have already seen some traction with prospective Middle East customers from these areas,” he says. “We expect this trend to continue this year – with sectors such as financial services, oil and gas, and utilities moving to the fore in the enterprise space.”
On the product side, Ahmad acknowledges that it is hard to single out any products from the company’s portfolio products that are more important than others. “Among our customers and prospects, however, two platforms have found particular interest last year – and I expect this trend to continue well into 2010. Firstly, says Ahamd, the CoreDirector FS platform, the new incarnation of Ciena’s highly successful CoreDirector product, is particularly well-suited for the demands of the Middle East market, allowing operators to build highly resilient mesh networks with intelligent automation for dynamic growth in services and network resiliency.
Secondly, according to Ahmad, the CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform is similarly well-suited for the Middle East operators faced with the need to support multiple and evolving services from a single platform and simultaneously prepare for the inevitable, worldwide transition to Ethernet.
He adds that one of the more significant focal points for Ciena will be closing the acquisition of Nortel’s optical and carrier Ethernet assets and executing its integration plan to build a stronger supplier focused solely on converged Ethernet innovation. “In the Middle East specifically, we will continue to build our market position and expand our presence,” he concludes.
Networking solutions specialist Ciena recently established its office in the region. Like many vendors that have set-up shop in the Middle East, Ciena is looking to build a strong channel presence that will help it grow its customer foot print in the region. RWME?s Manda Banda reports.
