Legacy Technology Firms’ Attention Shift

If you’re purchasing optics from an OEM, you are more than likely over paying for optics from a large third-party provider versus original manufacturer. OEM transceivers are typically coded by overseas suppliers and shipped directly to the customer without ever passing through the OEM’s hands. We are starting to see an industry shift from many legacy technology firms.

Cisco’s announcement to acquire BroadSoft this October is just another example of OEMs continuing to move away from not just optics, but hardware in general. “With its traditional business of making switches and routers seeing revenue declines, Cisco, like other legacy technology firms, has been focusing on high-growth areas such as security, the Internet of Things and cloud computing,” reports CNBC.

This narrowed focus means that hardware, and in particular transceivers become an afterthought, requiring long lead times and limited options rolled into bundled deals. Field techs claim transceiver failure rates typically range from 3 percent up to 10 percent, which makes sense knowing that OEMs are turning their attention to security and software.

For comparison, would you buy an engine from a company whose main focus is bicycles? Integra specializes in transceivers. We have a failure rate of less than .001 percent, primarily because we manufacture all of our transceivers in-house in our US-based manufacturing facility. Our robotics team plays a major role in our inbound and outbound testing process to ensure our transceivers are coded and tested to function 100 percent of the time in any network. Check out our process here.