re: Calix Strikes BackCan you discuss the ramifications of this?
1.) Why was Calix unable to develop a satisfactory version of the E5? Bad architecture? Lack of design talent?
It turns out Access is hard and it takes a lot of work to make a good product. They tried to do the E5 outside of Petaluma and I think that just turned out bad.
2.) Is the Zyxel product any good?
I am sure it is competent and limited.
3.) How does Calix compete against the rest of the industry--Occam, Pannaway, etc.--with this Zyxel product?
They are being whittled away at the low end particularly by Occam. Their revenues have topped out and my understanding is that they are hiring people on part time status.
4.) What happens when the large tier 2 carriers want to upgrade their Calix equipment?
They will likely pick a new vendor. Problem is their is no direct replacement out there, although it is not clear that there needs to be.
re: Calix Strikes Back brook, no need to be so diplomatic. Outside of Petaluma? They outsourced to India and it didn't turn out bad like you suggest it was a complete and utter disaster and heads rolled.
What if you could choose between 10 good engineers and 75 engineers of dubious quality to get the job done. I wish Calix no harm, although I might one day have to give them the proceeds of the sale of my house, but I like to hear stories of shipping jobs abroad gone wrong. Schadenfreude anybody?
I was trying to be gentle. If you want my actual view of Calix it goes something like this:
1 - They have no Tier 1 business, so nobody large cares about them in the least - there is no buyer.
2 - They have completely screwed the pooch on the E5 and OSI. They are getting their clocks cleaned at the low end by Occam. Their FTTH story is bad and they are slowly losing the high end there - there is no IPO.
3 - All of this means that their revenue has peaked and they have no exit strategy. They have business for a long while in front of them, but it is like any other terminally ill patient - just waiting for them to die.
re: Calix Strikes Back Calix, like so many other startups is doomed.
Here is why:
1) Outsourcing did not work 2) Product is over priced hence margins suck 3) Acquiring other companies was/is a big mistake.... 4) Really.....none of the senior management team has experience in the Access space....that was succesful 5) Revenue growth and margins must suck hence no one has acquired them yey and they cannot go IPO
pannaway's always bugging us for PR. wonder why they're so quiet now?
ph