Spotlight on: Genband: Firm integrates Nortel VoIP assets, employees

Fresh off its May 28 official acquisition of Nortel Network Ltd.’s VoIP business, Plano, Texas-based Genband has been busy integrating new employees and product lines, as well as adding to its existing product portfolio with a new partnership.
With the $182 million acquisition of Nortel’s Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions (CVAS) business, Genband is now the world’s leading CVAS provider, supplying 600 service providers and two-thirds of the top 100 largest operators. The company has grown from 400 employees and 100 contractors to 2,200 employees and 800 full-time contractors, said Mehmet Balos, CMO for Genband. The company’s continued growth (buying Tekelec’s switching solutions group in 2007, and NextPoint Networks in 2008) has fueled speculation of an impending initial public offering, perhaps as early as 2011.
The employee integration has gone smoothly, Balos said, in part because a number of Genband employees previously worked at Nortel so executives were familiar with Nortel’s business processes. “By June 1, everyone had badges, PCs and offices.” Nevertheless, integrating the business processes is taking longer, but the company expects that to be completed by April 1.
Genband added to its facilities with the Nortel buy, including adding an office in Raleigh, N.C., and a major research and development center in Ottawa, Canada, as well as offices in Beijing and Maidenhead, England.
Product line going forward
Nortel brought softswitching, gateways, SIP applications and TDM products and services to the table, while Genband has media, session and security gateway solutions. Together the two product lines are a turnkey end-to-end IP solution, Balos noted.
Genband also just signed a deal with Procera Networks Inc. to integrate that company’s Deep Packet Inspection technology, called PacketLogic, into the Genband product line.
In addition, Genband updated these products:
–Its all-IP ATCA Genius Platform, which encompasses its application, call control, session border and security product lines.
–Its A-Series Applications Portfolio, which Genband said is a central component for its vision for next-generation networks and IP Multimedia Subsystems as operators march toward fixed mobile convergence. The A-Series includes the Adaptive Application Engine (A2E) and Wireless Call Continuity platform (WMG 6000) from Nortel. Going forward, these solutions will be called the A2 and A6 product brands.
–A C-Series Call Control Portfolio that includes the C3 platform, and Nortel’s softswitch platforms, the CS 1500 and the CS 2000. Going forward these will be called the C15 and the C20.
–The G-Series Gateway Portfolio, which now includes the G2 and G6 universal gateways, the G9 converged gateways and Nortel’s CVAS media gateways.
–The S-Series Session Border Controller Portfolio, a GenView universal management system and a professional services portfolio.