Despite the uncertain economy, software used in the management of U.S-based telecommunications networks will net $6.6 billion in sales by the year 2006, reveals a new report from industry analyst firm CIR Inc. (Charlottesville, VA). In addition, sales of software used to manage optical networks will reach $3.7 billion over the forecast period.
Though carrier spending on optical equipment will remain slow for the next few years, equipment and software vendors can expect to see relatively stable spending on software used to provision, monitor, and secure service provider networks. Moreover, says the report, while cost considerations on the part of carriers will create pricing pressure on software purchases, these same services providers must extract more from their installed base and will be forced to rely on software solutions to do so. Software upgrades and maintenance fees derived from installed networks will enable established vendors like Lucent, Nortel, and Ciena to generate revenues regardless of sluggish equipment sales.
Telecordia will remain a key player in the independent software realm, thanks to its strong hold on legacy systems, though companies such as MetaSolv, Micromuse, and Hewlett Packard are poised to capitalize as the industry recovers, contends the report.
Carrier spending will migrate from basic element management to the higher level functions of a NMS or Service Management System (SNS). This represents an opportunity for companies that can deliver software that covers multiple technologies and vendor platforms, as network operators move away from proprietary architectures in favor of integrated and consolidated management functionality.
CIR's report, "Managing the Optical Network," explores the market opportunities and requirements for Network Management Systems targeted at optical networking. Revenue forecasts are broken out by network segment (long haul, metro, and access) and type, including provisioning, fault, performance, inventory, security, and network planning. The report also features service provider-based assessments of vendor offerings and their requirements for the future. For more information, call (434) 984-0245 or visit CIR's Web site at www.cir-inc.com.