Metro Network Vendor of the Year, Carrier Ethernet Vendor of the Year: |
Cisco Systems is five for five in our Carrier Ethernet Vendor category since we launched the Reader’s Choice Awards in 2008. And that’s no surprise, given its general dominance of the Carrier Ethernet switch segment. However, Cisco has also established itself as a key player in the metro space – this also marked the second year in a row Cisco has taken the Metro Network Vendor prize.
And that’s arguably no surprise either, as the Metro Network story is also a Carrier Ethernet story in many respects.
That’s partly due to the growing importance of mobile backhaul (where CE is seeing fast growth), but also because of the pressure that mobile broadband, video, and the cloud are putting on operator edge networks, which is driving a fundamental shift in the architecture of the IP network edge.
That’s where Carrier Ethernet switches come in (as well as IP edge routers) and Cisco leads the market in both categories.
Why they won
With its large installed customer base, innovations in 100-Gigabit Ethernet and a strong Carrier Ethernet portfolio, to include its ASR9000 router and MPLS-TP Carrier Packer Transport suite, Cisco remains the king of the Carrier Ethernet hill.
Cisco continues to demonstrate considerable innovation in the network edge, by supplying carriers not only with high-capacity edge routers, but also a way to build simplified, virtualized next-generation architecture designed to handle the biggest upcoming traffic drivers, such as video, cloud and smart devices.
AWARDS CEREMONY VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
FULL COVERAGE ON READERS' CHOICE AWARDS 2012