Ciena facts for kids
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| Public | |
| Traded as |
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| Industry | Networking systems & software |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Key people
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| Products | Networking systems and products |
| Revenue |  US$3.63 billion (2022) |
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Operating income
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 US$223 million (2022) |
| US$153 million (2022) |
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| Total assets | US$5.07 billion (2022) |
| Total equity | US$2.71 billion (2022) |
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Number of employees
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8,079 (2022) |
Ciena Corporation is an American company that creates networking systems and software. It is based in Hanover, Maryland, in the United States. Many people describe Ciena as the biggest company in the world for connecting things using light (optical connectivity).
As of October 2022, Ciena made $3.63 billion in sales. The company has more than 8,000 employees. Gary Smith is the current president and CEO. Ciena helps big companies like AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, KT Corporation, and Verizon Communications with their networks.
Contents
History
How Ciena Started
Ciena was started in 1992. It was first called HydraLite. An electrical engineer named David R. Huber founded the company. His old company, Optelecom, helped him get started. Another co-founder, Kevin Kimberlin, gave the first money.
Later, a company called Sevin Rosen Funds invested money. They saw how HydraLite's fiber-optic technology could help cable television. They invested $1.25 million in April 1994.
Ciena received $40 million in total from early investors. These included Charles River Ventures and Vanguard Venture Partners. Patrick Nettles, a physicist, became Ciena's first CEO. He and Huber changed the company's name to Ciena in 1994.
Growing Up and Going Public
Ciena introduced its first products in May 1996. Their first big customer was Sprint Corporation. Ciena's sales were $195 million in its first year. This was the highest sales ever for a new company at that time. WorldCom also became an early customer.
In early 1997, Sprint and WorldCom made up most of Ciena's sales. Ciena then started working with more customers.
Ciena became a public company in February 1997. This means its shares could be bought and sold on the stock market (NASDAQ). It was valued at $3.4 billion. This was a very large amount for a new company. In March 1997, Ciena moved its main office to Maryland. By October 1997, Ciena made about $370 million in sales. It also made $110 million in profit. Other customers at this time included AT&T and Bell Atlantic.
Through the Years: 2000s to Today
Around 2001, many telecom companies faced problems. Ciena's yearly sales dropped a lot. To help, Gary Smith became the new CEO in 2001. Patrick Nettles became the executive chairman. Ciena raised more money by selling shares. This helped the company grow.
Ciena bought 11 other companies between 1997 and 2004. They spent over $2 billion to buy five companies from 2001 to 2004. This helped Ciena offer more types of networking solutions.
In 2001, AT&T signed a deal to use Ciena's equipment. By 2003, Ciena was the fourth largest maker of fiber optic equipment in the U.S.
In 2008, Ciena made $902 million and had a profit of $39 million. The company had losses until 2015. In 2015, Ciena made $2.4 billion in sales. It also made a profit of $12 million. Ciena's team grew from 4,300 people in 2011 to 5,345 by October 2015.
Ciena's sales kept growing. They made $2.8 billion in 2017. In 2018, sales were about $3.09 billion. Ciena was listed among the top 1000 companies in the Fortune 1000 list.
Acquisitions
Ciena has bought many other companies over the years. This helped them get new technologies and expand their business.
| Company acquired | Year |
|---|---|
| AstraCom Inc. | 1997 |
| ATI Telecom International Ltd. | 1998 |
| Terabit Technology Inc. | 1998 |
| Lightera Networks Inc. | 1999 |
| Omnia Communications Inc. | 1999 |
| Cyras Corp. | 2001 |
| ONI Systems | 2002 |
| WaveSmith Networks Inc. | 2003 |
| Akara Corp. | 2003 |
| Catena Networks | 2004 |
| Internet Photonics | 2004 |
| World Wide Packets Inc. | 2008 |
| Nortel Metro Ethernet Networks | 2010 |
| Cyan | 2015 |
| TeraXion Inc. | 2016 |
| Packet Design | 2016 |
| DonRiver | 2018 |
| Centina Systems | 2019 |
In 1997, Ciena bought AstraCom Inc. This added 14 engineers to Ciena's research team. In 1998, they bought ATI Telecom International Ltd. This company made products for wireless communication. Ciena also bought Terabit Technology Inc. in 1998. This company made parts for sending data.
In 1999, Ciena bought Lightera Networks Inc. and Omnia Communications Inc. These deals were worth $980 million.
Ciena bought Cyras Corp. in 2001 for $2 billion. In 2002, they bought ONI Systems for $900 million. These purchases helped Ciena focus on networks in cities.
In 2003, Ciena bought WaveSmith Networks Inc. and Akara Corp. Akara helped Ciena improve its data storage products. In 2004, Ciena bought Catena Networks and Internet Photonics. Buying Internet Photonics helped Ciena get into the cable industry.
In 2008, Ciena bought World Wide Packets Inc. (WWP). WWP made switches and software for internet services. This company had over 100 customers in 25 countries.
Ciena bought Nortel's optical technology and Carrier Ethernet part in 2009–2010. This part of Nortel had over 1,000 customers. It also had about 1,400 employees in Canada. Many of these employees now work for Ciena in Ottawa. They do half of Ciena's research and development work.
In 2015, Ciena bought Cyan for about $400 million. Cyan makes software systems for network operators. Ciena also bought TeraXion Inc. in 2016. In 2016, Ciena bought Packet Design. This company makes software to help networks work better. In 2018, Ciena bought DonRiver, a software and services company.
Operations in India
Ciena opened an office in Gurgaon, India, in 2006. This office mainly focuses on research and development. In 2018, they started making products there for local markets. As of May 2018, about 1,500 employees worked there. This was 20% of Ciena's global team.
Ciena works with companies in India. In 2018, Ciena and Sify teamed up. They increased Sify's network speed from 100G to 400G. Ciena's products help Sify handle big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of things. In 2019, Bharti Airtel used Ciena's equipment. They built a huge network connecting over 4,000 places in India. Ciena also provides equipment to Jio and Vodafone Idea Limited. They also supply the Government of India.
What Ciena Makes
Ciena creates and sells equipment, software, and services. They mostly work with the telecommunications industry. They also help large cloud service companies. Their products help send and manage voice and data on communication networks.
Network Gear
Ciena's network equipment includes special switches and routing platforms. These help manage how much data moves on telecom networks. In 2019, Ciena launched its WaveLogic 5 modem platform. This platform can handle network speeds up to 800G. Ciena also makes technology for undersea cable networks.
Smart Software
The company has a software platform called Blue Planet. Telecom companies use it to program their networks. It helps with network automation. This software also uses machine learning. It can find unusual things in a network. This helps predict problems before they happen. It also tells network operators what to do to prevent network outages.
See also
- Ciena Optical Multiservice Edge 6500
Images for kids
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Ciena 3903 in SVG format
