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Networking & Communications
By Jeanne Lim, ZDNet Asia
Voice over IP (VoIP) and wireless technologies figured strongly over the past year in the networking industry, as these technologies matured and gained greater market acceptance.
The Net calling market also drew huge media attention this year following a slew of announcements by search giant Google which announced Google Talk featuring voice chat, and online auctioneer eBay which announced plans to acquire Luxembourg-based Skype. Yahoo's plans to buy Internet start-up telco Dialpad and Microsoft's plan to expand MSN Messenger features also fueled market interest.
In the integrated voice and data networking market, vendors elbowed each other to roll out products to meet growing demand. Not surprisingly, IDC's research showed that enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region in 2004 spent a total of US$480 million on IP telephony lines and equipment, more than twice the US$218 million invested in 2003.
The wireless networking market, however, has been a mixed bag of fortunes. The adoption of wireless networking technologies, such as WiMax, is forecast to grow, however, the take-up rate of mobile applications is expected to be slow.
According to research firm In-Stat, the subscriber base of WiMax in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow from 80,000 last year to 3.8 million by 2009, accounting for 45 percent of the world's total. Less positive news is in a study, which was conducted in July by IDC on wireless deployment of over 2,000 companies in the region. The report revealed that 21.4 percent have enabled Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) access for their employees, and over 80 percent said they did not plan to implement mobile enterprise and vertical applications within the next two years.
However, telecommunications service providers continue to find reason to cheer as analysts forecast a surge in broadband adoption and SMS (short messaging service) traffic in the Asia-Pacific region. Frost & Sullivan expects broadband revenues to increase from US$16.8 billion in 2004 to about US$42.1 billion in 2008, while Portio Research's estimates SMS traffic will double to exceed 1 trillion messages by 2010.
The players that made it to the ZDNet Asia Top Tech 50 list are Avaya, British Telecoms, Dell, Emerson Electronic, Ericsson, F5 Networks, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Huawei, Intel, LG Electronics, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Siemens, SingTel, and Symbol Technologies.
Competition will continue to be rife as networking giant Cisco, AT&T, D-Link, Enterasys, Foundry Networks, and Netgear turn up the heat in the Asia-Pacific region. The small and medium-sized business segment will be one of the key battlegrounds for companies like Cisco and D-Link. The service provider market is also one to watch, according to a bullish John Chambers, CEO of Cisco.
Going forward, more industry developments can be expected. For example, Intel and Cisco Systems announced in August joint plans to improve the reliability of wireless computer networks and the quality of Internet voice communication.
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Top Tech 50 companies in Communications & networking
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Avaya
Communications and networking vendor Avaya is widely recognized by analysts such as Frost & Sullivan, Gartner, IDC and Synergy Research as the leader in IP telephony, both worldwide and in the Asia-Pacific region.
Dell Computer
When Michael Dell first started his company in 1984, while still a student at the University of Texas, he decided that a direct sales model was the best way to make computing accessible to customers around the globe. This strategy proved successful, because for the past 20 years, Dell has firmly established itself as one of the leading PC brands in the world.
Ericsson
Ericsson is once again profitable after it relieved itself of the loss-making mobile phone division by entering a joint venture with Sony.
Fujitsu
The world's third-largest IT services provider, Fujitsu was established in June 1935 as a subsidiary of Fuji Electric.
Intel
Intel is one heavyweight difficult to bring down, despite fervent and highly-publicized attempts by its rivals to do so.
LG Electronics
Tired of playing second fiddle to rival Korean powerhouse Samsung, LG Electronics is aiming to be among the "Global Top 3"--the world's top three electronics, information and communications brands-- by 2010.
Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies was spun off in September 1996 as the systems and technology unit of AT&T Technologies, and grew to become a major player and developer of mobility, optical, data and voice networking technologies.
Motorola
These days, you'd probably know Motorola from its slender clamshell Razr V3 mobile phone, or for introducing the world's first commercial handheld cellular phone, the Motorola DynaTAC, in 1983.
NCR
The next time you visit an automated teller machine (ATM) to withdraw some cash, you might be able to spot a three-letter acronym NCR, engraved somewhere on the system.
NEC
An industry veteran, NEC was founded in Japan in 1899. Originally known as Nippon Electric Company, the company's early business dealt with the production, sales and maintenance of telephones and switches. Its global expansion took place in the 1950s, with the setting up of Nippon Electric New York (now NEC America). It was also during this period that NEC ventured into computing systems.
Samsung Electronics
From its early roots of dealing with dried fruits and vegetables, Samsung--literally meaning "three stars" in Korean--has come a long way. Today, it has subsidiary companies dealing in different areas ranging from chemicals to machinery and electronics.
Siemens
Siemens is a formidable global powerhouse in IT and electronics. With 434,000 employees around the world, the company provides products and services in automation and control, information and communication, medical, transportation, and power and infrastructure.
SingTel
For most incumbent carriers worldwide, the Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) Group began as a government entity in 1879 when the island-state became one of the first Asian cities to have a telephone service. Alexander Graham Bell had patented his invention only three years before the company was established.
ZDNet Asia Top Tech categories
Systems | Networking and communications | Storage management | Security | Software Infrastructure | Services | Business applications | Internet services
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