BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : FEBRUARY 8, 1999 ISSUE
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Duking It Out in the New World of Data Networks LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES REVENUES: $30.1 billion PROFITS: $970 million MARKET CAP: $134 billion -- The Murray Hill (N.J.)-based company grew up as the telephone equipment maker for Ma Bell during its days as the country's telephone monopoly, making it the No. 1 seller of standard phone gear. But Lucent is still just a bit player in the hot market for converged voice-and-data networks. That could change, though, with its $20 billion purchase of Ascend, which has cutting-edge technology rivaling Cisco. NORTHERN TELECOM (NORTEL) REVENUES: $15.4 billion PROFITS: $829 million MARKET CAP: $36.2 billion -- The Canadian player is No. 2 to Lucent in sales of regular phone gear in North America. Nortel has a bigger international presence than Lucent and a stronger position selling data equipment to corporations--thanks to last year's $9 billion acquisition of Cisco rival Bay Networks. The merger has had a rocky start: Nortel warned of soft demand for its equipment last year and laid off 10,000 workers in early January. CISCO SYSTEMS REVENUES: $8.5 billion PROFITS: $1.35 billion MARKET CAP: $162 billion -- The Silicon Valley powerhouse is the No. 1 seller of corporate data switches and routers--specialized computers that direct traffic around the Internet and corporate networks. Now Cisco is marketing aggressively to telephone companies that want to build whizzy new networks that can handle data and voice. It has won key orders from startup phone companies such as Qwest Communications, but has had a harder time selling to the Baby Bells, which worry about reliability. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					Return to main story INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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