2013 Infonetics Optical Vendor Leadership Survey Excerpts 101613

5/20/2018 2013 Infonetics Optical Vendor Leadership Survey Excerpts 101613

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I N F O N E T I C S R E S E A R C H S U R V E Y E X C E R P T S

Optical Equipment VendorLeadership Survey ExcerptsService Providers Name Top Optical Suppliers

Infonetics Research Survey Excerpts

Written by Andrew Schmitt

October 2013


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Contents

Introduction 1

Top Takeaways 1

The 2013 Survey 2

Service Provider Familiarity With Suppliers 2

Exhibit 1: Operator Familiarity with Optical Transmission and Switching Suppliers 2

Respondents Name Top Optical Suppliers 3

Ciena, ALU, Huawei Identied as Leaders in Overall Optical Equipment 3 Exhibit 2: Top Optical Transmission and Switching Suppliers 3

Infonetics Packet Optical Taxonomy: Denitions, Vendors, and Products 4

Exhibit 3: METRO-EDGE P-OTS Definition, Vendors, and Products 4

Exhibit 4: METRO-REGIONAL P-OTS Definition, Vendors, and Products 4

Ciena Perceived as Leader in Metro-Edge Packet Optical 5

Exhibit 5: Top Metro Edge Packet Optical Transport Suppliers 5

Ciena and Alcatel-Lucent Leaders in Metro-Regional Packet Optical 6

Exhibit 6: Top Metro Regional Packet Optical Transport Suppliers 6

Ciena Perceived as Runaway Leader in Optical Control Plane Technology 7

Exhibit 7: Top Optical Control Plane Suppliers 7

Important Product Features That Set Vendors Apart 8

Exhibit 8: Evaluating New VendorsImportant Features (Raw Responses) 8

Exhibit 9: Equipment Features 9

Equipment Supplier Leadership by Purchase Criterion 10

Exhibit 10: Optical Transmission and Switching Equipment Supplier Leadership 10

Methodology And Demographics 11

Survey Author 12

About Infonetics Research 12


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NoteInfonetics Researchs 2013 Optical Equipment Vendor Leadership: Global Service Provider Survey was independently conducte

and written by Infonetics Research, and was not sponsored by any vendor.

IntroductionOpinions at industry conferences, magazines, panel discussions, websites, and message boards all add tremendous noise

the critical issue: what does the customer think? Our annual optical leadership survey is an attempt to quantify the opinion

of customers in a departure from too much qualitative discussion.

This year we asked service providers to name whom they consider to be the overall leading optical supplier as well as the to

suppliers in packet optical transport systems (P-OTS) and optical control plane technology. We also asked respondents wh

criteria they use when making purchasing decisions and how they rate vendors on these factors.

Top Takeaways Ciena secured all the top leadership positions, distanced itself from perennial challenger Alcatel-Lucent in metro edg

packet optical, and is the runaway leader in optical control plane technology. Respondents also identified Ciena as th

leader in technology innovation.

Alcatel-Lucent is tied with Huawei for 2nd in overall optical supplier leadership and 2nd in packet optical leadershi

and is perceived as the leader in service and support.

Huawei is in 3rd and 4th place for leadership in metro regional and metro edge packet optical equipment, respective

Infinera is a consistent 4th in overall leadership categories and edged out Alcatel-Lucent for 3rd in optical contrplane technology. It is a close 2nd to Ciena in technology innovation.

Respondents consider reliability and total cost of ownership to be the most important criteria for selecting new vendor

and rank solution breadth, R&D investment, and financial stability the lowest.

Mention of 100G as an important feature when evaluating suppliers dropped from 25% to 5%, indicating the battle f

100G, at least as a key decision criterion, is over.

INFONETICS RESEARCH, INC. OCTOBER 2013

Opinions at industry conferences, magazines, panel discussions,

websites, and message boards all add tremendous noise to the

critical issue: what does the customer think?


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The 2013 SurveyEach year Infonetics Research surveys service providers for their opinions on which optical vendors are seen as the leaders

a number of categories. This is a summary of some of the results from our September 2013 Optical Equipment Features an

Vendor Leadership: Global Service Provider Survey, in which we interviewed 20 service providers globally that represent 31

of 2012 worldwide telecom capex and revenue.

Service Provider Familiarity With SuppliersIt is important to understand the level of familiarity a service provider has with various vendors, particularly in a fragmente

market such as optical equipment. This allows equipment vendors to see the relative awareness the market has of the

product versus other companies.

Though familiarity with a manufacturers offering does not necessarily translate into contract wins, vendors need buy

awareness to be evaluated as potential suppliers. Without a degree of familiarity, suppliers dont even get invited to the tabl

Respondents rated their familiarity with each of a list of optical transmission and switching equipment suppliers on a sca

of 1 to 7, where 1 is not familiarand 7 is definitely familiar, a measure called aided awareness.

Exhibit 1: Operator Familiarity with Optical Transmission and Switching Suppliers

Infonetics Research, Optical Equipment Vendor Leadership: Global Service Provider Survey, September 2013


Percent of Respondents Rating 6 or 7

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

BTI

Transmode

ECI

NEC

ZTE

Cyan

Ericsson

Fujitsu

Coriant

ADVA

Cisco

Tellabs

Infinera

Huawei

Alcatel-Lucent

Ciena 75%

70%

70%

55%

45%

40%

35%

35%

25%

20%

15%

15%

10%

10%

10%

5%


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3 INFONETICS RESEARCH, INC. OCTOBER 2013

Respondents Name Top Optical SuppliersIn past years, we focused our optical vendor survey on OTN switching and 100G technologies. Ciena and Alcatel-Luce

consistently dominated in the 100G category, and after several years of these surveys, it was time for a change. This year w

decided to take the discussion in a new direction and investigate leadership in packet optical transport and optical contr

plane technology. This is particularly important for OTN switching vendor selection as previous surveys indicate that the futu

inclusion of packet capabilities is needed, particularly at the edge of the network.

Ciena, ALU, Huawei Identied as Leaders in Overall Optical Equipment

First, respondents named their top 3 overall optical transmission and switching vendors.

Ciena returned to #1 this year after Alcatel-Lucent broke several years of Cienas dominance in our 2012 survey. Huaw

remains in 3rd place with about the same percentage of respondents naming the company among the top 3 as last yea

Infinera vaulted forward, staying in 4th place but with 45% of respondents considering them a leader, up from 25% last yea

Exhibit 2: Top Optical Transmission and Switching Suppliers


Percent of Respondents0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Ciena

Alcatel-Lucent

Huawei

Infinera

Fujitsu

ZTE

NEC

Coriant

Tellabs

75%

60%

60%

45%

15%

10%

10%

10%

5%

5%

5%Cisco

Ericsson


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Infonetics Packet Optical Taxonomy: Denitions, Vendors, and Products

To put into context the next set of service provider responses, Infonetics definitions of metro-edge and metro-regional packe

optical transport systems (P-OTS) follow, along with examples of vendors and products that fall into these categories of equipmen

Exhibit 3: METRO-EDGE P-OTS Definition, Vendors, and Products

Definition Vendors and Products

Metro-edge packet optical transport systems are platforms

with an architecture that provides all of the following:

Optical networking features including OTN transport

(not switching) and WDM; no ROADM support required

Support for optical and layer 2 restoration

Ethernet switching, including support for connection

oriented Ethernet (COE) protocols (e.g., MPLS-TP,

PBB-TE, T-MPLS, switched VLANs) and carrier grade

per-flow traffic management

Alcatel-Lucent 1850 TSS

BTI Systems 700/7000 Series

Ciena 6500 w/L2 MOTR, eMOTR

Cisco CPT, 15300, 15454

Cyan Z-Series ECI NPT

Ericsson SPO1410

Fujitsu 4100ES

Transmode TM-Series

Exhibit 4: METRO-REGIONAL P-OTS Definition, Vendors, and Products

Definition Vendors and Products

Metro-regional packet optical transport systems are platforms

with an architecture that provides all of the following:

Optical transport features including WDM and ROADM

Optical circuit switching (SONET/SDH crossconnect

and/or OTN) across the chassis

Support for optical and layer 2 restoration

Ethernet switching, including support for connection

oriented Ethernet (COE) protocols (e.g., MPLS-TP,

PBB-TE, T-MPLS, switched VLANs) and carrier grade

per-flow traffic management

Alcatel-Lucent 1830 TTS w/MPLS-TP

Ciena 6500 w/L2 Fabric, 5430

Unannounced Cisco products

ECI OPT

Ericsson SPO1460

Fujitsu Flashwave 9500

Hitachi AMN 6400

Huawei OptiX 8800

Infinera DTN-X w/MPLS

Nokia Siemens Networks hiT 7100

Tellabs 7100 Nano, 7100 OTS


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Ciena Perceived as Leader in Metro-Edge Packet Optical

We asked respondents whom they consider to be the top 3 suppliers of edge packet optical transport systems (P-OTS).

60% of respondents identified Ciena as a top 3 leader, which is a rather high percentage considering their presence in thi

category is new. The company is porting the technology from products acquired from World Wide Packets and deployed wideinto tier 1 networks into the 6500 product line.

Alcatel-Lucent has the successful 1850 TSS platform, which is used in wireless backhaul deployments around the world.

Not surprisingly, about a third of respondents named Cisco, but the company is not as high on this list as we expected give

the expertise and lengthy presence the company has had in this market.

Exhibit 5: Top Metro Edge Packet Optical Transport Suppliers


Percent of Respondents

0% 20% 40% 60%

Cyan

Ericsson

Hitachi

NEC

Tellabs

ADVA

BTI

Transmode

ZTE

Fujitsu

Huawei

Cisco

Alcatel-Lucent

Ciena 60%

40%

35%

25%

20%

10%

10%

10%

5%

10%

5%

5%

5%

5%


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Ciena and Alcatel-Lucent Leaders in Metro-Regional Packet Optical

The results for metro-regional P-OTS closely mirror the overall optical leadership results. Ciena and Alcatel-Lucent ar

considered leaders by the most respondents. Infinera is in 4th place, a curiosity given the company has yet to field a productio

system capable of any packet intelligence or switchingthough it is widely speculated this is something it plans to do. Long

time P-OTS suppliers Fujitsu and Tellabs follow.

Exhibit 6: Top Metro Regional Packet Optical Transport Suppliers




0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Cisco

Coriant

Ericsson

NEC

Transmode

ZTE

ADVA

Tellabs

Fujitsu

Infinera

Huawei

Alcatel-Lucent

Ciena 65%

60%

40%

35%

20%

10%

10%

5%

5%

5%

5%

5%

5%


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Ciena Perceived as Runaway Leader in Optical Control Plane Technology

Optical control plane technology (G-MPLS, ASON, SDN) is responsible for automating and controlling the configuration o

connections across an optical network, typically through a combination of optical (ROADM) or electrical (SDH and/or OTN

switches. This includes provisioning of new services as well as failure recovery.

Ciena is the runaway leader here, with 85% of respondents naming them among the top 3. Huawei is 2nd, followed b

Infinera, which edged out Alcatel-Lucent for 3rd place. This result is notable, as Alcatel-Lucent scored well throughout th

survey except in this question.

Exhibit 7: Top Optical Control Plane Suppliers




0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Ciena

Huawei

Infinera

Alcatel-Lucent

Tellabs

ADVA

Cyan

Coriant

Cisco

85%

45%

35%

30%

10%

10%

10%

10%

5%

5%

5%ZTE

Fujitsu


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Important Product Features That Set

Vendors Apart

After asking service providers to identify the leading vendors in several areas, we wanted to understand what features armost important when they evaluate suppliersthe features that typically set them apart. We switched to an open-ende

response methodology several years ago that allowed respondents to freely name what they think is important, and we feel

yields interesting and useful data. This is a word cloud of all the responses we received.

Exhibit 8: Evaluating New VendorsImportant Features (Raw Responses)




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We then looked at the responses and made some logical groups to tally the responsesthe logical groups are listed in the next cha

Price and TCO were cited in 45% of responses and many respondents cited reliability issues as well. Other areas that receive

more attention this year are multi-layer support and control plane. Last year, responses were more focused on layer 2 switchin

or MPLS, whereas this year, the word multi-layer appeared repeatedly.

100G features dropped from 25% last year to 10% this year, indicating the battle for 100G, at least as a key decision criterio

is over. Were glad we dropped the top 100G vendor question this yearits clear 100G technology is now more even

distributed. Issues such as multi-layer support and control plane are rising in importance.

Exhibit 9: Equipment Features



0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Price and TCO

Reliability

Control plane &network management

Scalability & flexibility

Multi-layer support

ROADM features

Technology innovation

Service & support

Performance

45%

40%

30%

20%

10%

15%

10%

OTN/ODU switchingfeatures

100G features

45%

20%

25%

40%

Top3Fea

tures

Issues such as multi-layer support and control plane

are rising in importance.


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Equipment Supplier Leadership by

Purchase Criterion

Each year we ask respondents to rank the relative importance of several criteria for selecting new vendors. We also ask themto select the vendors they perceive to be the leaders for each criterion. This was a prompted questionrespondents cou

choose up to 3 suppliers for each criterion from a provided list of 16 vendors.

The following table lists the top 3 vendors cited for each criterion. Note that the rows are ordered with the criteria ranke

as most important (product reliability) at the top and least important (R&D Investment) at the bottom based on the relativ

importance service providers perceive each category.

Exhibit 10: Optical Transmission and Switching Equipment Supplier Leadership

Criteria Number 1 Number 2 Number 3

Product reliability Ciena InfineraAlcatel-Lucent, Fujitsu,

Huawei (3-way tie)

Total cost of ownership Huawei ZTE ADVA

Service and support Alcatel-Lucent Huawei, Infinera (tie) Ciena

Pricing Huawei ZTEADVA, Alcatel-Lucent,

Infinera (3-way tie)

Technology innovation Ciena Infinera Alcatel-Lucent

Management tools Ciena Huawei Alcatel-Lucent

Financial stability Cisco Huawei Ciena

Solution breadth Alcatel-Lucent, Ciena, Huawei (3-way tie)

R&D Investment Huawei Ciena Cisco


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Bottom LineThis years survey results give us the first picture of which companies are leaders in packet optical equipment and highligh

the increasing importance of multi-layer features as a decision criterion. We believe 100G has waned as a key differentiato

and this is supported in the decline of responses mentioning it as such.

Methodology And DemographicsIn August and September of 2013, Infonetics surveyed 20 service providers from around the world who have an optica

transport network; they represent almost a third of worldwide telecom capex.

Respondents have detailed knowledge of their companies 10G/40G/100G optical transmission and switching equipment an

are influential in planning and making purchase decisions for this equipment.

Our sample includes a good mix of telcos, ranging from large incumbent service providers to smaller fiber-based competitive carrier

Incumbent service providers: 75%

Competitive service providers: 20%

Wireless service providers: 5%

Service provider respondents for this survey are based in:

Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA): 40%

Asia Pacific: 30%

North America: 25%

Central and Latin America (CALA): 5%


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I N F O N E T I C S R E S E A R C H S U R V E Y E X C E R P T S


Survey AuthorAndrew Schmitt

Principal Analyst, Optical

[email protected]

+1 408.583.3393

Infonetics Researchs 2013 Optical Equipment Vendor Leadership: Global Service Provider Surveywas independently conducte

and written by Infonetics Research, and was not sponsored by any vendor. The excerpts herein are reprinted by Ciena wit

permission from Infonetics.

About Infonetics ResearchInfonetics Research is an international market research and consulting analyst firm serving the communications indust

since 1990. A leader in defining and tracking emerging and established technologies in all world regions, Infonetics help

clients plan, strategize, and compete more effectively.

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2013 Infonetics Optical Vendor Leadership Survey Excerpts 101613

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