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Ciena Overhauls Product Names

Craig's A-List Craig Matsumoto, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading 10/18/2010

2:50 PM -- Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN) announced today that its products and Nortel Networks Ltd. 's are being joined into one big happy family under a common naming scheme.

Say goodbye to the CNs and OMEs, and hello to ActivFlex, ActivSpan, and ActivEdge. The new names are more action-packed, but we have to admit, they make it harder to visually group the products at a quick glance.

Here's the rundown.

Table 1: Packet-Optical Switching

Old Name	New Name
5430 Reconfigurable Switching System	ActivFlex 5430 Reconfigurable Switching System
5410 Reconfigurable Switching System	ActivFlex 5410 Reconfigurable Switching System
Source: Ciena

Table 2: Packet-Optical Transport

Old Name	New Name
Optical Multiservice Edge 6500	ActivFlex 6500 Packet-Optical Platform
Optical Metro 6110	ActivFlex 6110 Multiservice Optical Platform
Optical Metro 6130	ActivFlex 6130 Multiservice Optical Platform
Optical Metro 6150	ActivFlex 6150 Multiservice Optical Platform
CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform	ActivSpan 4200 Advanced Services Platform
Optical Metro 565	ActivSpan 565
Optical Metro 5100	ActivSpan 5100
Optical Metro 5200	ActivSpan 5200
Common Photonic Layer	ActivSpan Common Photonic Layer
Source: Ciena

Table 3: Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery

Old Name	New Name
CN 3180 Multiservice Delivery Switch	ActivEdge 3180 Multiservice Delivery Switch
CN 3181 Multiservice Delivery Switch	ActivEdge 3181 Multiservice Delivery Switch
CN 3190 Multiservice Delivery Switch	ActivEdge 3190 Multiservice Delivery Switch
CN 3911 Service Delivery Switch	ActivEdge 3911 Service Delivery Switch
CN 3920 Service Delivery Switch	ActivEdge 3920 Service Delivery Switch
CN 3940 Service Delivery Switch	ActivEdge 3940 Service Delivery Switch
CN 3960 Service Delivery Switch	ActivEdge 3960 Service Delivery Switch
CN 5140 Service Aggregation Switch	ActivEdge 5140 Service Aggregation Switch
CN 5150 Service Aggregation Switch	ActivEdge 5150 Service Aggregation Switch
CN 5305 Service Aggregation Switch	ActivEdge 5305 Service Aggregation Switch
5410 Service Aggregation Switch	ActivEdge 5410 Service Aggregation Switch
Source: Ciena

— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading

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Pete Baldwin 12/5/2012 | 4:21:06 PM

re: Ciena Overhauls Product Names

Awesome idea.

Although... didn't readers previously decide the Ciena logo make them think of tasty baked goods? If Ciena outfitted us with track suits *and* stuffed us with donuts.... now I think we're really onto something.

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jggveth 12/5/2012 | 4:21:06 PM

re: Ciena Overhauls Product Names

I hope they give out ciena logo track suits at the next analyst day.

Now when I think Ciena I think Activ

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spc_markl 12/5/2012 | 4:21:05 PM

re: Ciena Overhauls Product Names

Style over substance; Nortel people with a failed track record are running Ciena and an otherwise fine company could go down the tubes.

Mark Lutkowitz, Telecom Pragmatics

 

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baznyankee 12/5/2012 | 4:21:03 PM

re: Ciena Overhauls Product Names

Mark,

So you are carrying over a huge bias against some old Nortel executives who have "apparently" lost some business for CIEN!  Whew!

Glad you got that off your chest. 

So...........is this marketing scheme (overhaul of product names) some more "bad" by these ex-Nortel "boogeymen", who are really running the show?

Bill 

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spc_markl 12/5/2012 | 4:21:03 PM

re: Ciena Overhauls Product Names

Odo,

The major point is that the ex-Nortel executives tend to only know about marketing.  Some of these people now operating the company have no intimacy with cross-connects, have apparently been responsible for the loss of a good number of contracts with large customers, did not back successful previous strategies by homegrown leaders, and evidently helped to force out a CFO, who stood up to the CEO, when it was necessary.  This coup started several years before the announced merger.

Mark

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rahat.hussain 12/5/2012 | 4:21:03 PM

re: Ciena Overhauls Product Names

@mark, please elaborate your sweeping comment as it pertains to this announcement. when two companies combine a large portfolio of products, a renaming ceremony is inevitable, no? you may not like activ, or you may not like the nomenclature, but not sure how the company is going down the tubes because of marketing activ-ities.

 

odoe <-- who kinda likes activ, but will embrace the missing e.

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spc_markl 12/5/2012 | 4:20:58 PM

re: Ciena Overhauls Product Names

Bill,

Unfortunately, a lot of people at Ciena are not laughing.

Mark

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baznyankee 12/5/2012 | 4:20:57 PM

re: Ciena Overhauls Product Names

Ok Mark,

Since your comments are more vague the more you respond, I'm having to read between the lines. 

It appears that you have significant issues with some of these ex-Nortel executives but, due to their abilities at marketing, perhaps you don't have specific problems with these name changes (marketing).

Throw me a bone here about how these ex-Nortel guys were able to help force out a CFO starting a couple of years ago.  Are you saying they "evidently" helped force out a Nortel CFO, or are you saying that starting over two years ago they had the influence to force out a Ciena CFO? 

You've made several serious accusations and if they are at all true, I'm sure that many at Ciena are not laughing.  I'm sorry if my comment led you to think that I thought it funny, but your comments (not relative to the article by the way) sounded like someone with a huge chip on their shoulder.  This was my error and it won't happen again.

Bill 

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