3:30 PM -- NEW YORK -- Ethernet Expo Americas 2011 -- Two of the leading Carrier Ethernet Exchanges say it's time to do a business plan reset -- and to drop the "Carrier" part of their titles.

I was sharing a podium with Jim Poole, general manager of global networks for Equinix Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), and Glenn Calafati, vice president of interconnection services for Telx Group Inc. , in an Ethernet Expo session where they agreed that their companies should be considered just-Ethernet Exchanges -- points of interconnection for data centers and cloud services, and not places where carriers will interconnect their Ethernet networks to reach more customers.

For enterprises, exchanges can be central points to create the connections for cloud services, since users of those services can be literally anywhere. For service providers, exchanges could help deliver on-demand bandwidth to support their cloud offerings -- both Poole and Calafati said those tools exist today.

With more data migrating to the data center, as part of cloud offerings, there will be additional network capacity needed, and exchanges are one way of getting quick access to the necessary bandwidth, Poole argued.

So, Calafati said the one thing he would like to see is more public awareness of just-Ethernet exchanges, minus the "carrier," because he believes that new perception is more in line with reality.

Is this a case of trying to explain away the lack of widespread success of Ethernet exchanges among Tier 1 carriers, and to jump on the cloud bandwagon? Maybe. But there is also a track record for both Telx and Equinix in meeting enterprise demand for connectivity, and as those connections are increasingly made to data centers, the shift in stated strategy makes sense.

— Carol Wilson, Chief Editor, Events, Light Reading