Nortel 1Q09 Results- Holding Its Own

Nortel just published its 1Q09 results, and, in my mind, held its own in the highly competitive enterprise market. Why do I say this given that its enterprise revenues dropped some 40%? Consider: 1. Cisco revenues went down 20% in the quarter, so that's the new benchmark in these hard economic times. 2. New customers are generally not going to go with Nortel given it's in creditor protection, though there are some noted exceptions such as the M Resort, Las Vegas' latest resort. Applying the 80/20 rule, there goes 20% right there. 3. Existing Nortel customers are investing in Nortel; though, like Cisco and Avaya customers, are slowing down major new initiatives. Meanwhile, product innovation continues: it just launched its new Ethernet Routing Switch 5600 and Release 6 of its flagship CS 1000 IP/hybrid PBX, and its recently announced BCM 450 reached 1,000 units sold in February ( the fastest-selling Nortel product ever). In fact, Nortel has once again gained recognition by Frost & Sullivan as Enterprise Telephony Vendor of the Year in the 2009. But time is running out. Nortel needs to finalize its over-due business plans so that enterprise customers can confidently invest in Nortel solutions going forward.