Metaswitch Networks Ltd
Metaswitch
FormerlyData Connection Ltd
Company typePrivate
Industry
FoundedUnited Kingdom (1981 (1981))
FounderIan S. Ferguson
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
RevenueUS$156 million (2011)
Owners
Number of employees
700 (2011)
Websitewww.metaswitch.com


Metaswitch Networks Ltd (commonly Metaswitch) is a private UK-based company that produces network software for communication service providers, equipment manufacturers and large enterprises.

The company

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Metaswitch head office in Enfield, UK

Corporate history

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Metaswitch (formerly Data Connection Ltd) was founded in 1981 by seven former IBM employees led by Ian Ferguson, who remains on the board of directors.[1]

In 2000, the Data Connection launched the "MetaSwitch" brand for marketing to telephone service providers. In October 2009, to reflect the growing focus on the products sold under that brand, the company began marketing itself as Metaswitch Networks (with a lower case "s"), formally changing the company name in August 2011.

[2][3][4][5][6]

Customers

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Metaswitch claims more than 1,000 network operator and network equipment manufacturer customers, including Tier 1 service providers, cable operators, and independent operating companies (IOCs).[7][8][9] Notable customers include AT&T, British Telecom (BT), Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Charter Communications, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, EarthLink, FairPoint, Frontier, Inmarsat, Mediacom, Sprint Nextel, TDS, Telefónica, Telekom Austria Group, Tiscali and Windstream.[10]

Locations

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Metaswitch's head office is in London, UK. It also has main offices in the USA, Australia, Mexico, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as regional offices worldwide.[11]

Acquisitions

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In March 2010, the firm acquired AppTrigger Inc, a provider of Service Broker solutions in Richardson, TX.[12] In April 2011, it acquired Colibria AS, a provider of Rich Communication Suite (RCS) software in Oslo, Norway.[13]

Ownership and investors

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Metaswitch is a private limited company. Since 1987, shares in the company have been held by an employee benefit trust ("the EBT"), which enabled company-wide profit sharing.

[14][15]

In January 2008 Francisco Partners, a private equity firm, and Sequoia Capital, a venture capitalist firm, invested an undisclosed sum in Metaswitch.[16][17]

Products

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Metaswitch designs, sells and supports IP multimedia communications software for network operators of all sizes and types. Its products include session border controllers, telephony application servers, media gateways, desktop and mobile unified communications (UC) software clients and tools to help operators manage and analyze their networks. [18]

Voice and VoIP applications

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Metaswitch provides a range of telephony application server and switching products for service providers who are building voice networks using IP, modernizing legacy voice networks or deploying new voice applications.[19]

  • The MetaSphere MTAS platform provides voice and video applications, including unified messaging and dynamic call control.[20][21]
  • The Universal Media Gateway supports TDM media over legacy access and trunk network connections.[22][23]
  • The Integrated Softswitch supports media and call control functions. It is intended for service providers who want to replace their telephony switches or provide VoIP services.[24][25]
  • The MetaSphere Media Resource Server provides support for recorded announcements and other media functions in VoIP networks.[26]

SIP infrastructure

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Metaswitch’s SIP infrastructure components are designed to enable telephone service providers to migrate to IP networks.[27]

  • Its SIP Session Router provides SIP management features that are designed to make core SIP routing simpler and more resilient.[32][33][34]

4th generation communications

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The firm's 4G communications products are designed to enable end users to control their communications services across multiple devices.[35]

  • The CommPortal suite of cross-platform user interfaces allows residential and enterprise customers to access communications services on PCs, TVs and mobile handsets. CommPortal includes web portals, widgets, desktop and mobile applications, and a softphone.[36][37][38]

Past products

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  • The Colibria product suite enables mobile service providers to deploy a standards-compliant Rich Communications Suite (RCS) or RCS-e infrastructure.[39][40]
  • Thrutu, launched in March 2011, is a cloud based smartphone application that allows users to share media, location and other information during a regular phone conversation.[41][42][43][44][45] Thrutu is available on Android, iOS and BlackBerry. Thrutu was named Android App of the Week on Reg Hardware and was included in a list of the week’s best Android apps on Gizmodo.[46][47]

Management systems

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The firm's Network Management System provides integrated provisioning, operations and troubleshooting capabilities that work with all Metaswitch products.[48][49]

  • MetaView Web is a web-based interface for subscriber management.[50][51]
  • MetaView Explorer is a Java-based client application for subscriber and network management.[52]
  • MetaView Service Assurance Server is a diagnostics platform that helps service provider technicians to diagnose configuration, network and interoperability problems.[53][54]
  • MetaView Voice Quality Monitoring is a network-based system for monitoring the quality of calls in a VoIP network, to enable service providers to diagnose quality issues and remedy them.[55][56]
  • MetaView SIP Provisioning Server is a centralized platform for deploying, registering and configuring SIP phones in a service provider network.[57][58]

Software Defined Networking

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Metaswitch develops and licenses portable protocol stacks for system manufacturers of VoIP, IP Routing, MultiProtocol Label Switching (MPLS), Generalized MPLS (GMPLS), IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), and Systems Network Architecture (SNA) equipment.[59][60] This extensive background in networking protocols has helped the company develop software-defined networking solutions for network operators and enterprises running large data centers. [61] In 2014, Metaswitch introduced Project Calico to the open source community. [62] Project Calico helps data center operators overcome the current virtual network limitations that prevent data centers from scaling up to and beyond thousands of servers running millions of virtual machines. [63]

References

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  1. ^ "Ian S Ferguson". Metaswitch. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  2. ^ "History". Metaswitch Networks.
  3. ^ Karpinski, Rich (29 October 2008). "Metaswitch Touts 22% Growth". Connected Planet Online. Penton Media. Archived from the original on 20 May 2010.
  4. ^ Mohney, Doug (8 April 2009). "MetaSwitch Forum 2009: MetaSwitch appoints Lazar CEO, adds DeNuccio to board, consolidates brand". FierceVoIP. FierceMarkets. Archived from the original on 20 May 2010.
  5. ^ "Metaswitch Networks Annual Results Show Revenue Growth, Strong Profitability and Market Share Gains" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 7 October 2009.
  6. ^ "Metaswitch Networks". Companies In The UK.
  7. ^ "Metaswitch 2014 Annual Business Update". Metaswitch Networks.
  8. ^ Sims, David (25 January 2010). "Metaswitch Celebrates 500/250 Thresholds for 2009". TMCnet.com. Technology Marketing Corporation. Archived from the original on 20 May 2010. Metaswitch Networks celebrated by hitting the 250-customer threshold for the Network Protocols Division, and the 500-customer tally for its Carrier Systems Division.
  9. ^ Kowalke, Mae (29 October 2008). "Data Connection and MetaSwitch Report Record Revenues, Other Successes for 2008". TMCnet.com. Technology Marketing Corporation. Archived from the original on 20 May 2010.
  10. ^ "Customers". Metaswitch Networks.
  11. ^ "Locations". Metaswitch. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Metaswitch Enters Service Broker Market with Acquisition of AppTrigger" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 9 March 2010.
  13. ^ "Metaswitch Acquires Colibria" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 6 April 2011.
  14. ^ Jander, Mary (22 September 2003). "DCL: Hiring Toward Profits". Light Reading. UBM TechWeb. Archived from the original on 3 November 2003.
  15. ^ "Stability". Metaswitch Networks. Ownership. Archived from the original on 20 May 2010. The company is privately held by top-tier investment firms Francisco Partners and Sequoia Capital, as well as the Employee Benefit Trust (EBT), which distributes a share of profit to all employees...
  16. ^ "Francisco Partners and Sequoia Capital make significant investment in Data Connection and MetaSwitch" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 14 January 2008. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015.
  17. ^ Wilson, Carol (14 January 2008). "MetaSwitch gets cash infusion". Connected Planet Online. Penton Media. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010.
  18. ^ "Metaswitch Products". Metaswitch Networks.
  19. ^ "VoIP and Voice Applications". Metaswitch Networks.
  20. ^ "MetaSphere MTAS". Metaswitch Networks.
  21. ^ "Metaswitch Networks Unveils Enhanced MetaSphere Platform". TMCnet.
  22. ^ "Universal Media Gateway". Metaswitch Networks.
  23. ^ "Advanced Carrier Services Provider Metaswitch Offers Universal Media Gateway". TMCnet.
  24. ^ "Integrated Softswitch". Metaswitch Networks.
  25. ^ "MetaSwitch Debuts Compact Media/Signaling Gateway and Integrated Softswitch". Converge! Network Digest.
  26. ^ "Media Resource Server". Metaswitch Networks.
  27. ^ "SIP Infrastructure". Metaswitch Networks.
  28. ^ "Perimeta SBC". Metaswitch Networks.
  29. ^ "Metaswitch Unveils the Perimeta Session Border Controller". TMCnet.
  30. ^ "Can Metaswitch make a dent in crowded SBC market". Connected Planet.
  31. ^ "Metaswitch Perimeta is a Classic Business Case Study". IP Carrier.
  32. ^ "SIP Session Router". Metaswitch Networks.
  33. ^ "MWC: Metaswitch 'session router' prepares SIP signalling for mobile onslaught". Connected Planet.
  34. ^ "Metaswitch intros SIP session router". Doug On IP.
  35. ^ "4th Generation Communications". Metaswitch Networks.
  36. ^ "CommPortal". Metaswitch Networks.
  37. ^ "Metaswitch Debuts CommPortal Communicator". Light Reading.
  38. ^ "MetaSwitch Integrates Phone and PC Desktop with MetaSphere CommPortal Assistant" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 15 January 2008.
  39. ^ "Colibria". Metaswitch Networks.
  40. ^ "Metaswitch continues to ride RCS train with new server". Connected Planet.
  41. ^ "Thrutu". Metaswitch Networks.
  42. ^ "Thrutu website". Thrutu.
  43. ^ Thrutu aims to let Android callers do more while on the phone
  44. ^ "Metaswitch's Thrutu – a Glimpse of the Future". TMCnet.
  45. ^ "With Thrutu, Metaswitch is Practicing What it Preaches". Telecompetitor.
  46. ^ "Thrutu, Android App of the Week". Reg Hardware.
  47. ^ "This Week's Best Android Apps". Gizmodo.
  48. ^ "Management Systems". Metaswitch Networks.
  49. ^ "Metaswitch Touts MetaView's Network Management System for Advanced Carrier Services". TMCnet.
  50. ^ "MetaView Web". Metaswitch Networks.
  51. ^ "Metaswitch Network Provides Unified Management for Advanced Carrier Services". TMCnet.
  52. ^ "MetaView Explorer". Metaswitch Networks.
  53. ^ "MetaView Service Assurance Server". Metaswitch Networks.
  54. ^ "Metaswitch enhances MetaView network management system with service assurance server". Optical Keyhole.
  55. ^ "Voice Quality Monitoring". Metaswitch Networks.
  56. ^ "MetaSwitch and Texas Instruments collaborate on enhanced voice quality monitoring, press release, Metaswitch Networks" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 18 June 2008.
  57. ^ "SIP Provisioning Server". Metaswitch Networks.
  58. ^ "MetaSwitch Enhances Scalability, Security and Supportability of Hosted PBX and Consumer VoIP Deployments" (Press release). Metaswitch Networks. 18 March 2008.
  59. ^ "Network Protocols Software". Metaswitch Networks.
  60. ^ "SNAP-IX". Metaswitch Networks. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010.
  61. ^ "Metaswitch SDN". Metaswitch Networks.
  62. ^ "Metaswitch's Project Calico aims to simplify NFV connectivity". Fierce Wireless.
  63. ^ "Metaswitch Aims Project Calico's Layer 3 Routing at Cloud Data Centers". Converge! Network Digest.

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Category:Networking companies Category:Networking software companies Category:Telecommunications equipment vendors Category:Companies based in London Category:Companies established in 1981