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ADVA Optical Networking (FSE: ADV) is a telecommunications vendor^[2] that provides network equipment for data, storage, voice and video services. ADVA Optical Networking has a global workforce of over 1,000 employees and its Fiber Service Platform (FSP) has been deployed in more than 250 carriers and 10,000 enterprises.^[3].

Corporate history

• 1994: ADVA Optical Networking was founded by Brian Protiva, in Martinsried/Munich, Germany. Funded by Egora Holding^[4] , the company’s initial focus was the development of Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology^[5], designed to provide enterprises, including banks, insurance firms and utilities, with high-bandwidth network connectivity.
• 1995: ADVA Optical Networking launches its first product - the Escon Multiplexer. This product was used by Westfälische Landesbank.
• 1996: ADVA Optical Networking adds sales offices in mainland Europe and one in New Jersey, USA.
• 1997: ADVA Optical Networking sells media converters to its first carrier customer – COLT.
• 1998: ADVA Optical Networking launches its second product generation – the Optical Channel Multiplexer (OCM).
• 1999: ADVA Optical Networking launches its third generation of products – the Fiber Service Platform (FSP) I and FSP II.
• 1999: ADVA Optical Networking makes an initial public offering (IPO) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange^[6].
• 2000: ADVA Optical Networking launches its fourth generation of products – the FSP 3000 and the FSP 500.
• 2000: ADVA Optical Networking acquires Storage Area Networks Ltd., Cellware Broadband Technologie GmbH, FirstFibre Ltd. and Siemens Norway * Telecom R&D Division.
• 2001: ADVA Optical Networking opens an R&D, production and administration facility in Meiningen
• 2001 – 2003: ADVA Optical Networking builds market share in North America and Asia, signing OEM agreements with Fujitsu Network * Communications Inc. and Hitachi Ltd.
• 2003: ADVA Optical Networking launches the FSP 1500, a Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) next-generation SDH access solution
• 2004: ADVA Optical Networking acquires Metro Packet Systems, Inc.
• 2004: ADVA Optical Networking launches its first FSP 150 Ethernet access product.
• 2006: ADVA Optical Networking acquires Covaro Networks, Inc. and Movaz Networks, Inc.
• 2008: ADVA Optical Networking achieves annual revenue of EUR 217.7 million.

Chief officers

• CEO – Brian Protiva
• CFO & COO – Jaswir Singh
• CTO – Christoph Glingener
• CSMO – Christian Unterberger

Acquisitions

2000

• Siemens Norway Telecom R&D, Team Oslo, Norway^[7]
• First Fibre Ltd., York, UK^[8]
• Cellware Breitband Technologie GmbH, Berlin, Germany^[9]
• Storage Area Networks Ltd., Cambridge, UK^[10]

2004

• Metro Packet Systems Inc., Wilmington, Delaware, USA^[11]

2006

• Movaz Networks, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, USA^[12]
• Covaro Networks, Inc., Richardson, Texas, USA^[13]

Products

The FSP 150^[14]family. This platform provides intelligent Ethernet access solutions.

The FSP 3000.^[15] This platform is a scalable Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) system.

The FSP Management Suite contains four pieces:

• The FSP Element Manager - a Local Craft Terminal (LCT) application to activate, provision and monitor individual network elements.

• The FSP Network Manager - an Element Management System (EMS) that provides end-to-end network management.

• The FSP Network Planner – a software tool designed to simplify the network planning process and save time preparing network configurations.

• The FSP Service Manager - provides the capability to quickly and easily manage the end-to-end delivery of business-aligned, high-quality services across networks.

Markets

ADVA Optical Networking focuses on two network markets: Enterprise and Carrier^[16].

Enterprise Networks

This includes customers in vertical markets, such as research-and-education organizations, governments, banks, insurance firms, utilities and the media. Each segment has its own network focus, including:

• Business continuity^[17]
• Disaster recovery^[18]
• Continuous data protection^[19]
• Grid computing^[20]
• Network and application virtualisation
• Distance learning
• Collaborative working
• Server consolidation
• Data center connectivity^[21]

Carrier Networks

Carrier networks are undergoing a period of significant change. Business and residential customers are demanding access to high-bandwidth applications that are creating enormous data demands on today’s network infrastructure, including:

• Triple-play services^[22]
• IPTV^[23]
• Video on demand
• Video conferencing
• Online gaming
• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
• Ethernet services^[24]
• LAN services
• Mobile data services

Market share

In 2009, Infonetics Research listed ADVA Optical Networking as the industry leader (#1 position) in the Ethernet Access Device (EAD) space with a market share of 20 percent^[25], Based on 2008 revenues. This market strength is also reflected in the WDM space, where Infonetics Research also listed ADVA Optical Networking as the #3 metro WDM provider in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, as well as #4 both globally and in North America^[26].

References