Juniper Networks Takes On Big Players With Data Centre Hardware

The recent release of data centre switches, software and routers by Juniper Networks is expected to impact on the market share of big players like Cisco, IBM and Hewlett-Packard.

Juniper's hardware is designed to reduce IT costs for enterprise users. Its data centre switches and routers will take on Cisco's Nexus switches and other data centre hardware.

The company hopes that the release will pave the way for Juniper's upcoming Project Stratus, announced by the company in 2009.

By allowing enterprises to reduce their IT costs, Juniper is looking to give a nudge to desktop virtualisation centred around enterprise networking and communication.

Zeus Kerravala, an analyst with the Yankee Group, said: “Virtualisation levels the network playing field. The vendor that solves that problem first has a huge upside.”

Despite the optimism, Juniper will have a job on its hands. Cisco is has much greater experience in network virtualisation, and both HP and IBM dominate the data centre market.