| Type | Privately-held company as of March 2006 |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications hardware |
| Founded | March 1983 as Cabletron Systems, Listed on NYSE as Enterasys in August 2001 |
| Headquarters | Andover, Massachusetts |
| Key people | Interim CEO: Mark Stone[1] |
| Products | Switches, Routers, Network Security Software |
| Employees | 750 |
| Website | www.enterasys.com |
Formed in March 2000 as a spin-off of Cabletron Systems, Enterasys Networks is a networking company catering almost exclusively to large enterprises. The company designs and manufactures all types of networking equipment including routers, switches, and 802.11 wireless access points and controllers.
In addition to networking hardware such as switches, routers and wireless solutions, the company also builds software for managing and securing enterprise-class networks such as Intrusion Prevention System, Network Access Control and Security Information Management.
The company's headquarters are in Andover, Massachusetts.
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In November 2005, Enterasys was acquired by The Gores Group and Tennenbaum Capital Partners in a going-private,$386 million transaction.[2] In April 2006, The Gores Group named network security veteran Mike Fabiaschi as the newly-private company's CEO.[3] Fabiaschi was tasked with leading the company out of the challenges caused by the fraud trial and renewing trust relationships with customers. His first act as CEO was to speak directly to Enterasys employees and express his mission to "fix the company."[4] His strategy to revive Enterasys included an initiative to establish the company as a leader in customer service, resulting in the new company tagline "There is nothing more important than our customers." His plan also included strengthening the company's global vendor partner relationships within the networking and security markets, and expanding the company's customer base to include the higher education, healthcare, financial and government verticals. In 2008, under Fabiaschi's guidance, Enterasys sought to increase revenue to $1 billion and make one or two strategic acquisitions.[5]
On September 22, 2008, Fabiaschi died suddenly. His death came at a time when the seeds of his plan to renew Enterasys were coming to fruition - the company had just entered a new joint venture with Siemens Enterprise Communications.[6] Mark Stone, Enterasys Chairman of the Board, was named interim CEO and completed the joint venture transaction. Chris Crowell currently serves as the CEO and President of Enterasys.
On July 29, 2008, The Gores Group announced its partnership with Siemens to acquire the German company's enterprise communications business, known as Siemens Enterprise Communications. The Gores Group acquired a 51% stake in Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEN). As part of the $550 million transaction, Gores Group offered the contribution of two of its top assets: Enterasys and SER Solutions, a Virginia-based contacts management solutions provider.[7] Integration of Enterasys enterprise networking solutions with SEN's telephony and wireless solutions is already underway.[8]