Extreme Networks Broadens Cloud, Eyes 5G Opportunities

Extreme Networks is no longer just a wireless and LAN switching business, it’s a cloud networking company, CEO Ed Meyercord told SDxCentral in a recent interview. Extreme Networks is no longer just a wireless and LAN switching business, it’s a cloud networking company, CEO Ed Meyercord told SDxCentral in a recent interview. The company isn’t giving up on its hardware business though, rather it plans to extend its cloud management and data analytics capabilities beyond the confines of wireless access points (APs) and switches to third-party equipment and even 5G applications. And it aims to do this by the end of the year. This push is deeply rooted in the success of the company’s cloud management platform, which it acquired from Aerohive back in 2019. According to Meyercord, cloud bookings grew 40% during last quarter and were up 140% year over year in Q2. “We are the fastest growing cloud-driven networking company out there,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve ever been in a stronger competitive position than we’re in today.” Aerohive HiveManager — now rebranded as ExtremeCloud IQ — forms the basis for Extreme’s subscription-based cloud management and hardware controller, which replaces traditional on-premise offerings. Since the launch of ExtremeCloud IQ, the comany has moved aggressively to tie together its expansive hardware and software portfolio under the cloud platform. The latest update introduced new Universal Hardware developed specifically for use with the cloud management platform, alongside a spate of value-added features, and a simplified licensing and subscription model. Another update eliminated data-retention limits on network telemetry collected by the company’s APs and switches. Customers can now apply machine learning-based network analysis over historically significant periods, Meyercord explained in an earlier interview with SDxCentral. As Extreme enters its third fiscal quarter of 2021, the company aims to leverage these capabilities to win new contracts, including those with customers that might not be using the company’s hardware. “Our vision is we want to attach as many devices to our cloud as we can,” whether they’re from Extreme or not, Meyercord said, adding that this will allow customers to glean new insights from telemetry data even in heterogenous deployments. While Meyercord didn’t name any specific equipment parters, he did say the integrations would use an open API to allow vendors to take advantage of ExtremeCloud IQ’s management and analytics capabilities. Extreme plans to share additional information on third-party hardware partners at its investor conference on Feb. 23. Extreme is also getting in on the 5G hype. While Meyercord was again short on details, he said the company had developed both a 5G packet broker as well as a full-stack NFVi platform in collaboration with two large service provider and telecom partners. “This represents the largest growth opportunity that I’ve seen since I’ve been involved with the company,” he said. What’s more, Meyercord said the company planned to ramp up production of both platforms in the first half of the calendar year, with volume shipments starting in the second half of 2021. More information on the company’s 5G initiatives are expected later this month. “The big news is we’re pivoting into calendar-year 2021, and we see double-digit growth for Extreme,” Meyercord said, adding that he expects the company’s growth rate to widen even further as it enters the 5G market.