There are those who believe the best time to change is when you're doing very well or there is economic downturn. Atul Bhatnagar, president and CEO of Ixia (News - Alert), a provider of technology for testing wireless networks, is one of those.
'At Ixia, we strongly believe that investing through the downturn is important,' Bhatnagar told TMC CEO Rich Tehrani (News - Alert)during a one-on-one interview at last week's Interop show in Las Vegas. 'In Ixia's case, investing in the right products was a key strategy.'
The company's 'right' investments included the acquisition of Catapult Communications (News - Alert), which helped it strengthen its IP testing services portfolio.
Enjoying the fruit of its labors, the company spent its time at Interop, held April 27 to 29, showcasing a number of solutions related to 'green' testing, storage area networks, virtualization and more.
When he sat down with Tehrani, Bhatnagar spoke at length about how the company has invested in technology that is driving the future.
'Convergence is the driver - convergence of wired and wireless, and convergence of tools that bring wired and wireless together,' he said. 'As wireless and wired companies come together, there are opportunities for converged data centers, as well as secure testing solutions. So for us, the play has become broader and the customers we serve has become broader.'
Speaking of broader horizons, Ixia today announced the introduction of a complete end-to-end testing solution for converged mobile backhaul networks -- from the radio base station to the mobile packet core. Ixia now offers full testing solutions, including measurement for conformance validation, interoperability, precision and performance of devices and networks used for mobile backhaul, including IEEE (News - Alert)1588v2 and ITU-T Sync-E-based time synchronization standards.
'The hurdle facing most mobile backhaul network operators is reproducing the stability and reliability of TDM on Ethernet-based services,' said Bob Mandeville, president and founder of Iometrix (News - Alert). 'Full end-to-end compliance testing of timing protocols such as 1588v2 -- demonstrating reliability on par with TDM -- is key for equipment manufacturers helping carriers to make the transition.'
Marisa Torrieri is a TMCnet Web editor, covering IP hardware and mobility, including IP phones, smartphones, fixed-mobile convergence and satellite technology. She also compiles and regularly contributes to TMCnet's gadgets and satellite e-Newsletters. To read more of Marisa's articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Marisa Torrieri