Equant, BT/BT Infonet, And AT&T Score High
Press Release
According to Forrester Research, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORR), the
multiregional wide-area network (WAN) services market will grow
between 4.5 and 6.5 percent CAGR over the next five years as large
multinational corporations replace their aging legacy international
data WANs to improve communication application performance between
sites. Companies face a difficult time choosing providers as the global
telecom services market is still recovering from overcapacity issues of
the late 1990s and is evolving due to mergers involving several
tier-one network operators, and increased competition from non-telcos
— notably, global virtual network operators (VNOs) and specialist
systems integrators (SIs). To help enterprises select a primary WAN
provider, Forrester evaluated nine of the largest international network
operators that offer WAN services in three or more geographic regions.
Forrester estimates that these global network operators comprise nearly
half of the total market for multiregional WAN services. Other network
operators, such as Telefonica, Singapore Telecoms, and Global Crossing,
represent roughly 15 percent of the market. The SIs, VNOs, and global
IT outsourcers have about 37 percent of this market. The Forrester
Wave(TM) evaluated the global network operators that have many large and
mid-market multinational business customers with a large number
of overseas sites, and that also have MPLS points of presence in at
least 10 countries outside their home region, including:
· AT&T
· BT
· Cable and Wireless
· Equant
· Infonet (now BT Infonet)
· MCI
· NTT Communications
· Sprint
· T-Systems
Firms interviewed as part of the Wave evaluation told Forrester that
consistent delivery of service across geographies was the most
important issue in selecting a supplier. Other key vendor
differentiators included: service-level agreements (SLAs) with
aggressive and proactive penalty credits and good problem escalation
and remediation policies, easy-to-understand pricing models, and
financial stability.
Overall, Forrester found that Equant, AT&T, and the combined BT/BT
Infonet are well positioned to dominate the global WAN services market
over the next five years due to their comprehensive portfolios and
extensive reach of multiregional WAN services. Specific results follow:
· Equant is the clear
Leader today. For most major evaluation criteria, Equant demonstrated
leadership.
· AT&T and the
combined BT/BT Infonet are Strong Performers with potential to become
Leaders. Forrester expects that when the integration of BT Infonet is
completed, BT’s service offering and geographic reach will give strong
competition to Equant in many international markets. AT&T also
showed a strong performance on breadth of service, service pricing, and
its overall value proposition; it is just a short step away from Leader
stature.
· MCI, Cable &
Wireless, Sprint, and NTT Communications are all firmly positioned as
Strong Performers. Most tier-one global network operators will
focus their sales and international investments on existing customers
and others that have most of their sites within the vendor’s IP
backbone footprint. Elsewhere, they will rely mainly on local carrier
partners.
· T-Systems is close to
moving into the Strong Performer category. To move up the company will
need to enhance its international WAN services portfolio by adding
unmanaged MPLS/IP VPNs and hybrid WANs. It also needs to improve its
value proposition message for non-German companies.
The research mentioned in this release, “The Forrester WaveTM: Global
WAN Services, Q2 2005,” also includes recommendations for buyers. It is
available to Forrester WholeView 2TM clients and can be found at
www.forrester.com.
The Forrester Wave Methodology
The Forrester Wave methodology is open, rigorous, and unbiased.
Forrester starts with an open criteria review process, verifies
findings against enterprise customer interviews, and checks facts with
vendors. This research is performed without sponsorship to help user
companies make better vendor selections. Forrester does not charge
vendors to participate in a Forrester Wave.
About Forrester
Forrester Research (NASDAQ: FORR) is an independent technology and
market research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking
advice about technology’s impact on business and consumers. For 22
years, Forrester has been a thought leader and trusted advisor, helping
global clients lead in their markets through its research, consulting,
and peer-to-peer executive programs. For more information, visit www.forrester.com