4 - Cabletron

For

Cabletron, "switching" has been the buzzword. But in

order to have a horizontal expansion, it created four

independent operating companies to focus on high-growth markets.

The India Cabletron team looks charged up for a larger share of

the networking pie in India.

It is a clear winner on

the high-end LAN switches and has emerged as a preferred choice

in mission-critical networking environs. It figured in almost

all the top major networking contracts in the country. The

Reliance Petrochemical, Haldia Petro, Indian Oil, Silverline

Industries, and MBT orders alone are estimated have fetched it

Rs 5 crore each. Its success was on account of three

factors–proven high-performance and reliable products,

customer management skills, and focus. It has targeted niche

segments of manufacturing, IT, and government.

Its most significant

achievements have been its entry into the service provider's

segment. And Cabletron bagged a major order worth Rs 2 crore

from ARM Ltd, a Category 'B'ISP in Andhra Pradesh. While

Patel's aggressiveness and Indianess gave fillip to Cabletron's

portfolio in general, Birje's ability to bring and integrate

Cabletron's worldwide global initiatives into the Indian

marketplace instantaneously has made the customers more loyal to

Cabletron.

The current year is likely to prop up

Cabletron. Some of its key initiatives last year

likeintroduction of product ranges for the enterprise and

service provider's market, alliances with Global TeleSystems

and ARM are expected to bear fruit this year. It has already

announced the launch of Enterasys Networks in India to focus

exclusively on delivering strategic e-business solutions to

global enterprise customers. And the other three entities too

are soon to be launched. With Cabletron looking at India as an

important destination for investment and announcing plans to

invest to a tune of $50-100 million in strategic partnerships

and acquisitions, it will grow in strength.