Juniper, Lucent deals have something in common

Four companies last month issued two announcements that we think have something in common, something that points to a trend we’ve seen before in other technology adoption cycles.

Juniper Networks agreed to acquire NetScreen Technologies in a stock-for-stock transaction. According to their statement, “the combined company will provide customers with mission critical networking requirements, including security, reliability and performance, each simultaneously without compromise.”

Meanwhile, Lucent and BroadSoft partnered to help service providers build new VoIP networks and help enterprises implement VoIP with enhanced applications. The companies state that under this alliance “service providers and enterprises can immediately take advantage of end-to-end carrier-grade Accelerate VoIP solutions. These solutions support a variety of implementations such as premises-based, managed service or carrier-hosted.” 

It’s interesting that two suppliers like Lucent and Juniper (which have established a strong presence among service providers) are now joining with companies that bring in something enterprises want and need.

It kind of reminds us of the old days, when the carriers realized that the PBX needed to work together with Centrex. Or maybe it was the time when premises-based TDM equipment was co-managed by carriers working together with the enterprise.

We contend that the carriers and their suppliers are stepping up to make enterprise IP networks work together for services like IP VPNs and VoIP. Like the old days when a “voice VPN” required integration between service providers and the enterprise, so too are next-generation services making the transition.