Market Strategy, Not Technology, Is Most Crucial to Foreign Vendors' Prospects in China
Abstract
China is a unique market, which needs vendors to change from traditional product-centric strategies to a market-focused strategy. In a developing market, such as China, having superior technology is second to having a comprehensive market strategy. As a major European vendor recently commented to RHK, the quality and price of foreign vendors?products are quite similar; sales and marketing are the key differentiators.
The Asia-Pacific optical networks market―including SDH/SONET add/drop multiplexers (ADMs), digital cross-connects (DCSs), and WDM―grew to $5.14 billion in 2001, up 28 percent from 2000. Huawei took the market lead on the back of dramatic growth in China. Fujitsu and NEC, 2000’s market leaders, slipped to fourth and fifth amidst a flat Japan market, while Lucent and Nortel both improved. In 2002, significant new metro opportunities, a more mature OCS market, a cheaper yen, less vigorous growth in China, and new buildouts in several smaller markets could significantly alter the market share picture.