INRANGE: A Switch in Time

As companies bulge with data, high-end storage providers have benefited
tremendously, such as Brocade
and EMC .
The industry is known as Fibre Channel, which is a standard for large-scale
storage.

Another beneficiary is
INRANGE
Technologies
. Actually, the company develops networking and switching
solutions for Fibre Channel companies.

This week, INRANGE plans to go public. The lead underwriter is Salomon
Smith Barney and the price range was increased from $12-$14 to $14-$16 (the
company intends to issue 7.7 million shares). The proposed ticker symbol is
INRG.

INRANGE has a family of products called IN-VSN. Basically, it allows for
the efficient transport of data between storage devices, computers and
networks. What’s more, IN-VSN focuses on datacenters, which require high
levels of reliability.

Another product is the Universal Touchpoint. This provides for switching
and control systems for high-end data networks. For example, INRANGE has a
24,000-port Mega-Matrix switch (it’s the largest in the industry).

Then there is the 7-View product family. It monitors telecom networks
(emphasizing voice communications). Applications? Well it can do such
things as call tracing, fraud detection, and call routing.

In all, INRANGE has been able to install products at over 2,000 sites in 90
countries. Customers include EDS, HP, IBM, and Cisco.

Interestingly enough, INRANGE has been in existence since the late 1960s.
Since then, the company has morphed several times. In fact, INRANGE is
currently in the process of another transition (for example, there have been
four recent acquisitions). This explains the lackluster revenue growth.
Between 1998 to 1999, revenues declined 11.1% to $200.6 million. Profits
were $5.8 million. Basically, the data and voice segments have been slow,
while the storage segment has been growing at breakneck speed.

But with new product introductions and a focus on high-growth markets,
INRANGE will begin to show traction soon. Expect the IPO to have a strong
performance this week.

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