Demand for Carrier Ethernet Soars Among SMBs, New Report FindsSmall and midsize businesses are turning to carrier-delivered Ethernet services for their lower costs, greater flexibility, and ease of use, according to Heavy ReadingPRNewswire NEW YORK, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are making a strong move to carrier-delivered Ethernet services, spurred on by a combination of potentially lower costs, more service flexibility, and ease of use compared with other data service alternatives, according to results from a new worldwide survey of enterprise users conducted by Heavy Reading (http://www.heavyreading.com/), the market research division of CMP's Light Reading (http://www.lightreading.com/). Carrier Ethernet Services: The View From the Enterprise presents full results from Heavy Reading's latest end-user survey regarding the emerging carrier Ethernet sector, conducted in the third and fourth quarters of 2007. Based on feedback from 92 respondents from 90 different enterprises, the report provides up-to-date respondent views on a broad range of Ethernet service and application topics. The survey base features a high representation of SMBs with fewer than 100 employees (41 percent of respondents), and includes respondents from a full range of industry vertical sectors, including technology, healthcare, education, information services, transportation, manufacturing, and financial services. "With deployment of carrier Ethernet technologies now in full swing, network operators and their technology suppliers are now making the transition from focusing on infrastructure issues to tackling what clearly is the make- or-break proposition for the carrier Ethernet movement - understanding and shaping enterprise user expectations for carrier-delivered Ethernet," says Stan Hubbard, Senior Analyst with Heavy Reading and author of the report. "With competition in the metro enterprise market intensifying, especially with aggressive moves being made by cable network operators for the SMB sector, network operators are under pressure as never before to calibrate their offerings to meet customer demands, rather than expect customers to match their expectations to the available services." Enterprises of all sizes are increasingly shifting from legacy services to Ethernet connectivity services because they promise to deliver equal or greater performance at competitive prices and enable convergence of real-time and non-real-time applications on a common network architecture, Hubbard notes. "Survey results indicate that enterprises are embracing Ethernet first and foremost for the ease with which it allows them to cost-effectively scale with bandwidth requirements," he adds. "Discussions with operators indicate that it is not uncommon for them to offer seven to ten times more Ethernet bandwidth for just twice the price of a traditional data service. Moreover, Ethernet bandwidth typically comes in more granular increments, making it easier for enterprises to purchase the right amount of bandwidth appropriate for their needs." Key findings of Carrier Ethernet Services: The View From the Enterprise include the following: Ethernet connectivity services represent the largest share of data connectivity spending for the enterprises that participated in this survey. Nearly half of respondents said that Ethernet connectivity services represented at least 31 percent of their overall spending on data connectivity services. This compares to 15 percent of respondents who said that MPLS/IP VPNs represent at least 31 percent of their spending. Enterprises are embracing Ethernet first and foremost for the ease with which it allows them to cost-effectively scale with bandwidth requirements. As Ethernet has become more feature-rich, enterprises also have been attracted by its ability to support multiple services and applications over a single user network interface (UNI). While enterprises are enthusiastic about using Ethernet, many are placing high demands on operators to deliver more robust services. This is especially true now that more of their mission-critical data is likely to ride on top of Ethernet. Respondents identified service uptime, reliability, and security as the most important features. Service reliability is by far the most important factor when it comes to selecting a particular Ethernet provider. According to survey information, service reliability dominates in the eyes of enterprises; the next most important factor is the ability of an operator to deliver Ethernet to all required locations. Carrier Ethernet Services: The View From the Enterprise is essential reading for a wide range of industry participants, including the following: -- Network operators: How will demand for carrier Ethernet progress in
coming months and years? Which kinds of enterprises are most interested
in carrier Ethernet, and what are their projected timetables for making
the transition to carrier Ethernet services? What do enterprise users
see as the key benefits of migration to carrier Ethernet, and what do
they see as the biggest obstacles? What are the likely price and
performance points that will attract enterprises to carrier Ethernet?
What are the unique concerns of SMBs, and how can they be addressed by
network operators?
-- Carrier Ethernet technology suppliers: How is demand for carrier
Ethernet service tracking compared with technology deployments? Are
your network operator customers keeping ahead of the anticipated demand
curve, or are they in danger of falling behind? Which industry
verticals are moving most aggressively toward carrier Ethernet? How
will end-user demand patterns affect network operator needs for carrier
Ethernet gear in the months and years ahead?
-- Investors: How much growth can network operators expect from carrier
Ethernet services? How will shifts in end-user demand affect product
portfolios of network operators and their technology suppliers? How
will carrier Ethernet services affect profitability for the telecom
service sector in the coming months and years?
Carrier Ethernet Services: The View From the Enterprise costs $3,495 and is published in PDF format. The price includes an enterprise license covering all of the employees at the purchaser's company. Purchasers of this report also gain online access to the complete database of survey results, searchable by a range of key demographic criteria (including company size, industry vertical, geographic region, and respondent job title, among others). For more information, or to request a free executive summary, contact: Dave Williams Sales Director, Heavy Reading 858-485-8870 dave.williams@heavyreading.com Press/analyst contact: Dennis Mendyk Managing Director, Heavy Reading 201-587-2154 mendyk@heavyreading.com About Heavy Reading Heavy Reading is an independent market research organization offering quantitative analysis of telecom technology to service providers, vendors, and investors. Its mandate is to provide the comprehensive competitive analysis needed today for the deployment of profitable networks based on next- generation hardware and software. About CMP CMP (http://www.cmp.com/) is a media and marketing solutions company serving the technology industry. With the leading online, event, and print brands in all technology market categories, and with services and tools that reach beyond traditional advertising, CMP shapes and influences the technology industry worldwide. CMP publishes highly respected media brands such as TechWeb, InformationWeek, ChannelWeb, CRN, EE Times, and TechOnline; produces major industry events such as Interop, Web 2.0 Expo, XChange, Game Developer Conference, and the Embedded Systems Conferences; and provides business information and marketing services such as the International Customer Management Institute, Semiconductor Insights, and Second Life consulting for technology marketers. CMP is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion. For more CMP news, go to cmp.com/news. SOURCE: Heavy Reading CONTACT: Dave Williams, Sales Director, Heavy Reading, +1-858-485-8870, Web site: http://www.heavyreading.com/ |