Avaya's Nortel buy might not power it over Cisco
- 01 December, 2009 10:35
- Comments 1
Even after it buys Nortel, Avaya won't dominate Cisco in the battle for business-communications customers, according to a new study.
IntelliCom Analytics says that in the third quarter of this year, Cisco scored No. 1 in sales of business communications gear, outstripping number two Avaya and number three Nortel's revenues combined.
The numbers released Monday put Cisco ahead with 28.7% of sales, followed by Avaya with 18.4% and then Nortel with 9.9% -- a combined total of 28.3%. The numbers are for North American sales. Global numbers are due out in a week or so.Analysts have said that one key reason for Avaya buying Nortel is that the deal would give the combined entity a dramatic lead in the race for business customers. At the VoiceCon conference this fall, analyst Alan Sulkin, president of TEQConsult Group said, "They're going to be a powerhouse. The last time somebody had a marketshare like this was AT&T in 1900."
At the same show, analyst Zeus Kerravala of the Yankee Group, quoted the combined Avaya/Nortel as holding 42% share of the North American market.
The difference between the numbers discussed at VoiceCon and those from IntelliCom is that the stats quoted at VoiceCon referred to numbers of phone line equivalents each vendor shipped vs. the total sales reaped for the products as measured by Intellicom.
While Avaya clearly improves its position either way, how much is open to interpretation, says Frank Stinson, partner and senior analyst with IntelliCom, who wrote "Intellicom Market Performance Dashboard 3rd Quarter 2009."
Both measurements are muddy because VoIP PBXs and peripheral systems aren't as cleanly measurable as were traditional PBXs and the phones that connected to them, he says. VoIP servers can be sold as software with hardware from a separate vendor a range of peripheral hardware and software. So a customer could buy a VoIP server but keep its traditional PBX in service via a gateway and make continued use of the old handsets, he says.
Come socialise with us! Facebook | LinkedIn
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email ARN
- Follow ARN on twitter
- In Search of the Long-Term Archiving Solution —Tape Continues to Be a Major Player
- Spectra Logic and Australian National University Success Story - March 2012
- In Search of the Long-Term Archiving Solution —Tape Delivers Significant TCO Advantage over Disk
- Premier Media Group Fast Study
- Aberdeen Group: Building Business Resilience Through Active Archive
-
Telstra announces HTC One XL
-
Tech Watch: Who watches the datacentre?
-
Preview: HTC One S
-
Facebook scammers host Trojan horse extensions on the Chrome Web Store
-
Webroot: Growth in security
Get exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events. 
Comments
The Cisco Kid
RIP AND REPLACE TIME
All the Cisco partners in Australia must be warming to this merger between Avaya and Nortel. Once the Nortel portfolio becomes end of life i can see all the Cisco vultures appearing with rip and replace strategies.
Post new comment