Juniper networks snaps at its competition's heels

Rethink IT, Dec, 2004 by Caroline Gabriel

Juniper Networks is one of the large group of networking vendors that lives in the shadow of Cisco. It has taken a classic approach to being a small fish living alongside a whale, by seeking to differentiate itself strongly in a high value niche--in its case, carrier-class routers and other backbone equipment. Along with Avici, it has snapped at Cisco's heels, and often blazed the trail technologically, in the telecoms market, but never got sufficiently large or broad-based to threaten the giant.

This year, however, it has made several important moves that seek to reduce its dependence on telecoms operators and enable it to offer a wider and more end-to-end range. This came after a very bad experience during the telco recession and dotcom crash--what was once a $200 per share company rambled as low as $4 per share, profits evaporated and sales collapsed by two-thirds after the bust. Expansion now is key, as telcos continue to suffer fluctuating fortunes and as enterprise and carrier focused vendors increasingly converge hence the recurring rumors that Cisco and Nortel will merge. But the new direction also brings Juniper far more visibly into its huge rival's radar, as it takes on Cisco's enterprise networking and security heartland, as well as being widely expected to announce its first wireless strategy. All this is coupled with its attempt to raise its profile and impose its own vision on the networking future with its concept of the 'Infranet'.

Its core business remains in carrier backbones, however, and this market has seen some recovery in the past two years after the telecoms depression of the turn of the century. For instance, last month, Juniper won the largest share of a huge contract for China Telecom's next generation backbone network.

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