Infinera vs. Ciena: How do they compare?
Infinera and Ciena are both key OEM players in the telecommunications industry. They both strive to produce cutting-edge optical transport technologies for a range of enterprise-level businesses, as well as offering different service packages to help their users optimise their optical networks. Although still undoubtedly a smaller company than Ciena, in terms of revenue and employees, Infinera still competes with them in some key business areas.
In this article we take a look at both companies in a bit more detail, covering how they differ from each other, and the areas that they specialise in.
Who is Ciena Corporation?
Ciena Corporation is a global networking solutions provider based in the USA that specialises in designing, manufacturing, and marketing advanced telecommunications equipment, software, and services. Started under the name of Hydralite in 1992 by David Huber, the company changed its name to Ciena in 1994.
The company launched on the NASDAQ stock exchange in February 1997 at a value of US$ 3.4 billion and quickly gained large customers such as Sprint Corporation, which helped make them one of the most successful start-up companies of all time.
Ciena Corporation is based in Maryland in the USA, it is currently estimated to have approximately 8,000 employees globally and operates in over 35 countries. By the end of 2022, Ciena had posted revenue of over US$ 3.6 billion. Some of their more prominent customers include AT&T, Samsung and Verizon.
What does Ciena specialise in?
Optical transporting
Ciena is renowned for its expertise in packet-optical transport systems, these combine optical and packet technologies in one unified platform helping to integrate traditional TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) services with modern packet-based services. However, this doesn’t mean they only operate on traditional telecoms.
Network analytics
Ciena has a strong background in network analytics, they have a range of solutions that gives users visibility, predictive analytics, and proactive network management capabilities to help improve the operational capability of the networks they are deployed in. These features are usually machine learning and algorithm-based and enable operators to make data-driven decisions and proactively address network issues.
Digital transformation
Digital transformation has also been a key focus area for Ciena, over the past several years, they have worked on an intelligent automation platform which they call, Blue Planet. This platform is designed to help manage digital transformation for businesses through a range of automation and lifecycle management features including DevOps tools, inventory and order management as well as advanced analytics. Although Ciena has now separated Blue Planet into its own company, they still understand that businesses will end up buying into the Ciena network infrastructure as well.
A Ciena 4200 Advanced Services Platform
Who is Infinera Corporation?
Infinera is a manufacturer of optical transmission equipment targeting the service provider market of the telecoms industry. It was founded in 2000 by Drew Perkins, Jagdeep Singh and David Welch. One of the first technological advancements Infinera made was developing a high-speed indium phosphide-based photonic integrated circuit. The company was launched on the NASDAQ share exchange in 2007 after being underwritten by Goldman Sachs, they went on to raise over US$ 180 million.
Over the next ten years, Infinera made two notable acquisitions. The first was purchasing Swedish telecoms company Transmode, which made packet optical networking systems. Then they purchased Coriant, a spin out of Siemens Optical Networks, which specialised in DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing). These two acquisitions positioned Infinera as one of the largest optical network manufacturers in the world.
Infinera operates out of its headquarters in San Jose but also has a separate manufacturing plant in Sunnyvale, California, as well as using the former Transmode headquarters in Stockholm for their European operations. They have over 3,000 employees globally and at the end of 2022 had published revenue of over US$ 1.5 billion. Some notable companies of Infinera include Taos (an IBM company), and NEC Corporation of America.
What does Infinera specialise in?
Photonic integration
Unsurprisingly, as it helped develop the technology, Infinera is renowned for its expertise in photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and is an industry leader in their development. PICs utilise multiple optical functions within one compact chip allowing for compact and power-efficient networking solutions to be implemented by service providers, thus helping them achieve higher capacity and improved network performance.
Long-haul optical transport systems
Through their acquisition of companies such as Transmode, Infinera has become a world leader in the field of advanced optical transport systems. Particularly those which focus on transmitting high-speed data over long distances. Their technology incorporates digital signal processing and adaptive optics to enhance network reach whilst maintaining signal integrity over long-distance optical networks.
Optical semiconductor fabrication
With its own fabrication plant in Sunnyvale, California, Infinera does much of the design and fabrication of its optical hardware in-house. By utilising this resource they are able to ensure consistent high-end delivery across all the products that they manufacture. This differs from many other companies that produce optical hardware, who tend to outsource their manufacturing function to other cheaper companies.
Infinera and Ciena at a glance
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*Data correct at time of publication
An Infinera TM 3000, part of Infinera’s XTM Series of optical transport platforms.
Ciena vs. Infinera FAQs
Here we run through some of the most common questions our experts get asked about Ciena and Infinera.
Who are the competitors of Infinera and Ciena?
Apart from competing with each other, both Infinera and Ciena see competition from some of the other larger telecommunications corporations, such as Huawei, IBM, Ericsson, Nokia and Oracle. Although none of these firms provide exactly the same service offering as each other, there is still enough crossover to challenge their position.
How to choose between Ciena or Infinera?
Although both Infinera and Ciena appear to offer a similar set of services, making the decision on which to use as your chosen networking partner can seem like a difficult decision. They are both multi-billion dollar companies that offer a similar range of services, so the final decision has to be made based on which one offers the best solution for the individual needs of your network.
At TXO we stock a range of used, refurbished optical networking equipment from both Ciena and Infinera, all of which are covered under our extensive one-year guarantee. We can help you make the decision on which networking equipment is best suited for your needs, so why not give us a call today to find out how we can help?