Frost & Sullivan Presents ADVA Optical Networking with Prestigious Market Engineering Product Line Strategy Award

Business Wire, Jan 16, 2001

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 2001

Frost & Sullivan announced today that ADVA Optical Networking is the recipient of the 2000 Market Engineering Product Line Strategy Award.

ADVA identified a specific opportunity in optical enterprise access and is the market leader within their enterprise/access segment.

ADVA's products allow service providers to better meet customer demand for reliable, easy to manage solutions that significantly increase bandwidth and network capacity. With ADVA's Fiber Service Platform (FSP), carriers offer their customers managed fiber links. These highly reliable "virtual fiber" connections allow enterprise customers to considerably reduce the cost of running such critical applications as data recovery and storage clustering, which are essential to successful day-to-day operations of banks, insurance companies, financial and Fortune 500 institutions. ADVA's Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) solutions enable businesses to cost effectively derive greater performance from their mission critical networks by utilizing existing fiber-optic infrastructures.

The Frost & Sullivan Market Engineering Product Line Strategy Award is bestowed to companies demonstrating the most insight into customer needs and product demands. Award recipients must meet specific criteria such as introduction of new products strategically positioned to balance the product line and forming strategic alliances. ADVA received this esteemed award by providing affordable optical networking solutions for service providers and enterprise users worldwide.

According to new strategic research by Frost & Sullivan, "Optical Networking Equipment Markets," ADVA's revenues have grown rapidly over the last two years. Revenues have increased from $10.9 million to nearly $60 million due to launching an aggressively priced product and reseller arrangements with large partners, such as Cisco, Alcatel, Siemens and INRANGE.

"ADVA has created a rapidly growing business without the usual amounts of venture capital funding typical for most optical networking startups. Management has skillfully identified an important market niche, established the best price/performance product in the market, and negotiated key distribution partnerships resulting in rapid revenue and customer growth. They have quietly exercised an aggressive acquisition strategy, broadened their product line, and captured key technical skills. ADVA is leveraging their success and customer relationships in the enterprise access market to enter into the metropolitan access, transport, and optical switching markets," says Frost & Sullivan Optical Networking Program Leader, Mark Storm.

"This award recognizes ADVA's customer driven nature and our commitment to turning the metro vision into value for enterprises and service providers. We are honored that Frost & Sullivan have recognized our efforts with this prestigious award," says Brian P. McCann, chief sales & Marketing Officer of ADVA Optical Networking.

About ADVA Optical Networking

ADVA is a leading global provider of optical networking solutions to deploy, manage and deliver communication networks and high-speed services for the metropolitan area and enterprise markets. ADVA's product family is used by both metro area service providers and enterprises to provide high-performance connectivity and delivery of high-speed data, storage, voice and video services. ADVA sells its products through a global network of distributors, value-added resellers, and original equipment manufacturers including Alcatel, Cisco and Siemens. As of January 2001, over 480 enterprises and more than 28 service providers have deployed ADVA's equipment.

ADVA is headquartered in Munich (Germany), with R&D centers in Cambridge and York (U.K.), Oslo (Norway), Berlin and Meiningen (Germany). Worldwide offices are located in Berlin, Hannover and Munich (Germany); Cambridge and York (U.K.); Paris (France) and Ramsey/New Jersey (U.S.A.); and Tokyo (Japan). Visit www.advaoptical.com for more information about ADVA Optical Networking.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, a global leader in international strategic market consulting and training, presents Market Engineering Awards to companies that demonstrate the diligence, perseverance, and dedication required to develop a successful business plan and excel in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. Frost & Sullivan rigorously analyzes specific criteria to determine Market Engineering Award recipients in a variety of regional and global market landscapes. Founded in 1961, Frost & Sullivan is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. with offices located worldwide: New York, San Antonio, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur. For further information, visit http://www.frost.com.