Sulkin on Siemens, Alcatel-LucentSulkin on Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent
Allan Sulkin was kind enough to send me his thoughts on the Siemens Enterprise (SEN) deal this morning. Allan knows SEN as well as any analyst out there; here's what he says:
July 29, 2008
Allan Sulkin was kind enough to send me his thoughts on the Siemens Enterprise (SEN) deal this morning. Allan knows SEN as well as any analyst out there; here's what he says:
Allan Sulkin was kind enough to send me his thoughts on the Siemens Enterprise (SEN) deal this morning. Allan knows SEN as well as any analyst out there; here's what he says:
The announcement that Gores Group would acquire a majority position in SEN ends more than two years of waiting re the fate of the business unit. SEN's market position was hurt as they existed in a state of corporate limbo: more than a few customers were wary of trusting their future telecommunications needs with a company whose ownership was in question. Gores Group and Siemens AG will have 51% and 49% equity stakes, respectively, in the business unit. The Siemens name will continue to be used and leveraged, a very important point for many customers. Combined with the resources of Enterasys & SER (whose president happens to be Loe Licata, formerly president of US-based Siemens Communications), SEN can offer customers a fully integrated, highly secure voice/data network solution for their communications needs. The SEN situation now parallels that of Avaya. SEN can fully focus on its future market direction as an enterprise-centric competitor. It is the second largest enterprise communications suppliers in terms of revenues, behind Avaya, with the third largest installed global base (behind Avaya and Nortel). It also has the largest field sales/service organization, a competitive strength only Avaya is close to matching. SEN will leverage its field operations to have a greater focus on customer services, especially in the evolving market for Unified Communications solutions. Expertise with both Microsoft and IBM desktop platforms will greatly help SEN's market position.
SEN now needs to reclaim a good share of the customer mindset it has lost during the past few years. The role of Gores Group will mean a greater focus on the North American market, which the Munich-based company occasionally downplayed in its product development and marketing efforts is favor of Western Europe (its primary market). SEN must now work hard to keep its installed base intact and defend against competitive penetration, while targeting the installed base of its competitors with its strong portfolio of a core communications system (OpenScape UC Server) and many applications offerings. The OpenScape UC Server offer is unique in that it is the only truly fully-integrated telephony/UC hardware and software solution (see recent nojitter.com article by this writer)."
SEN now needs to reclaim a good share of the customer mindset it has lost during the past few years. The role of Gores Group will mean a greater focus on the North American market, which the Munich-based company occasionally downplayed in its product development and marketing efforts is favor of Western Europe (its primary market). SEN must now work hard to keep its installed base intact and defend against competitive penetration, while targeting the installed base of its competitors with its strong portfolio of a core communications system (OpenScape UC Server) and many applications offerings. The OpenScape UC Server offer is unique in that it is the only truly fully-integrated telephony/UC hardware and software solution (see recent nojitter.com article by this writer)."
On Pat Russo's resignation as CEO of Alcatel-Lucent, Allan wrote, "It was not unexpected. Pat was installed as CEO to guide the company through its merger process, and particularly to show strong U.S. presence in the new company. Now that some time has passed it was time for her to step down."
