ITEXPO East: ADTRAN Discusses Enterprise Networking Trends

By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, IP Communications Magazines

Mobility and hosted solutions are two big trends in the enterprise networking space, and Bob Locklear, director of business development for the enterprise networks division at ADTRAN, recently rejoined the Huntsville, Ala.-based company to help the company formulate and execute strategies around both of the above.

Locklear, who worked for ADTRAN (News - Alert) in the 1990s, later joined NetSpeed, which Cisco Systems bought. He’s also held various other positions at other networking and VC outfits. His last startup was in the cloud space. Locklear spoke with TMC (News - Alert) today in Miami at ITEXPO East.

Speaking of the cloud, Locklear says ADTRAN is looking at three drivers of its business, which include broadband, mobility and cloud services.

Of course, broadband demands continue to increase, which means a need for higher speed connections both in wireline and wireless networks. As Locklear notes, the mobile network is actually a wired network, so mobile backhaul (an area in which ADTRAN offers solutions) is important on that front.

Also on the mobile front, enterprises and the companies that cater to them are trying to figure out how to bring mobility into their organizations in a more integrated way. Locklear says ADTRAN already has find me/follow me capability in its UC product, and the company expects to expand on that by adding mobility and FMC to its enterprise products. He adds that VoIP wireless also ties into this discussion.

On the hosted front, ADTRAN has been working closely with partners including BroadSoft (News - Alert) and Metaswitch as well as AT&T and Verizon, on various hosted solutions. ADTRAN’s 900 gateways are part of the mix, says Locklear. He adds that the 6355 gateway/switch also can be deployed in hosted environments and is aimed at small or branch office applications.

ADTRAN also will continue to add features and capabilities that support hosted services on its UC product, says Locklear.

Cloud applications, he continues, also need a router or gateway at the edge of the network to do traffic prioritizing, another need that ADTRAN can fill.

ADTRAN is a Gold sponsor of ITEXPO East 2011. To be held Feb. 2-4 in Miami, ITEXPO (News - Alert) is the world’s premier IP communications event. Visit ADTRAN in booth #300. Don’t wait. Register now.

(source: http://communication-solutions.tmcnet.com/topics/communication-solutions/articles/140481-itexpo-east-adtran-discusses-enterprise-networking-trends.htm)