MetaSwitch (News - Alert) started life less than a decade ago under the umbrella of parent company Data Connection, which is known for its protocol stacks that are used by many tier 1 equipment suppliers.

But the student has become the master, with the carrier VoIP infrastructure part of the business now generating more than 80 percent of Data Connection’s revenue. As a result, Data Connection and MetaSwitch have decided to remove the curtain and market their hardware/software solutions using the singular name Metaswitch Networks.

“The two brands that we had had begun to get confusing for our very diverse customer base,” Metaswitch Networks CEO John Lazar (News - Alert) told TMCnet in an interview last week. The new name offers a more coherent brand based on the brand that is more visible, and that is Metaswitch, he added.

Beyond clearing up any branding confusion, the move may be an effort by the carrier VoIP infrastructure side of the business to emphasize its play in the application space. Lazar emphasized to TMCnet that more than half of the former MetaSwitch division’s revenues are from applications.

Additionally, this new positioning (along with other recent moves by the company, such as creating for the first time a dedicated CFO position, showing amazing performance despite the punishing economy and continuing to invest big in people and R&D), seem to signal Metaswitch Networks’ move toward a potential IPO.

While Lazar said the economy makes planning an IPO a very iffy proposition at this point in time, he did indicate this is the general direction in which the company seems to be heading.

“I think planning is too strong a word,” he said.