• Spirent takes testing out of the lab to focus on new industries
• Main areas will be 5G, lifecycle service assurance and cybersecurity
• Goal is to enable autonomous service assurance
• Targeting service provider and enterprise networks

Test and measurement company Spirent has had a bit of a make-over and launched a new business initiative to pursue emerging technologies and new industries as it looks to extend into service provider and enterprise networks. It wants to focus on assuring customer performance and revenues, as well as exploring new business opportunities in virtualization and autonomous vehicles.

It wants to develop products and services to accelerate creation of devices, applications and network equipment and ultimately automate all testing and introduce solutions for autonomous service assurance. 5G is obviously a nexus for such a pivot, and we will no doubt see more testing companies make the move out of the lab and try and get into the telco-vertical industry space that 5G promises to open up.

There’s also a vertical move here, as Spirent wants to be valued not just by the engineering teams of its customers, but by those “throughout all levels of our customer organizations” as CEO Eric Hutchinson explained.

There appears to be a realisation in the market that “test and measurement” companies are worthy but – let’s be honest – dull. How the heck do you provide eye-catching marketing support for your sales force? Better to be seen as “analytics, assurance and security” companies, with perceived value at a much higher level within telcos and enterprises.

Key quote:

• “Markets are transforming rapidly,” said Eric Hutchinson, CEO of Spirent. “That means delivering insights that influence and support strategies for revenue growth and cost savings throughout organizations.”

Original Press Release:

Spirent Positions To Assure Next-Generation Device And Network Performance

“Promise. Assured.” business initiative expands company’s innovation beyond lab testing into the network and out to new industries, with focus on 5G, lifecycle service assurance and analytics, and cybersecurity.

Spirent, the trusted provider of test, measurement, assurance and analytics solutions for next-generation devices and networks, today announced the company-wide “Promise. Assured.” business initiative to leverage its proven innovation to pursue emerging technologies and new industries and extend into service provider and enterprise networks. The company will focus on assuring customer performance and revenues with solutions for 5G, lifecycle service assurance and analytics, and cybersecurity. It will also explore new business opportunities in virtualization, autonomous vehicles and automotive.

“Markets are transforming rapidly and our role in this new frontier is to march alongside our customers, not just as solution providers but true partners,” said Eric Hutchinson, CEO, Spirent. “That means delivering insights that influence and support strategies for revenue growth and cost savings throughout the organizations we serve, as we help accelerate the transition of devices, equipment and applications from the lab into the operational network.”

Spirent’s focus on 5G, lifecycle service assurance and analytics for better customer experiences and cybersecurity to simplify and validate defenses will include solutions for development, benchmarking and management of mobile networks, Ethernet business services, and virtualized network functions. It will see the company working with customers in new ways, leveraging deep expertise and experience in:

• 5G – As 5G investments gain momentum globally, Spirent enables and assures 5G products and services, including hybrid networks. The company will continue to create 5G test solutions for development of 5G devices and network equipment, and expand focus to include service assurance and analytics of 5G networks.

• Lifecycle Service Assurance – As great customer experiences become the next competitive battleground, Spirent will deliver real-time operational analytics to address issues before they impact service performance and customer experience, leveraging automation, analytics and active testing technologies. This includes expanding the company’s VisionWorks solutions to 5G and IoT and incorporating artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics into new applications.

• Cybersecurity – Spirent tests products and networks for security vulnerabilities, offering cybersecurity products that simulate a wide range of scenarios with real world traffic mixes and services that provide industry-leading expertise. The company fosters collaborative industry efforts, including through its work as a founding member of NetSecOPEN, the open industry group that brings together security product vendors, test tool vendors and test labs to develop test specifications. Spirent will expand its security products and services, including new data breach detection assessment capabilities as it accelerates growth in this market.

Spirent is recognized globally as a leader in lab-based high-speed Ethernet, positioning and mobile network infrastructure testing, and service assurance systems for service providers. The company will continue to advance in these markets while innovating toward cybersecurity solutions, and automated testing and development of autonomous service assurance solutions. It will also focus on validating automotive Ethernet performance and evaluating vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure and autonomous vehicle implementation readiness.

The “Promise. Assured.” initiative is supported by a new branding campaign that emphasizes Spirent’s capabilities to bring clarity to increasing device and network complexity, and serve as trusted advisors to help enable and assure the promises Spirent’s customers make to their customers.