Juniper, Nortel Open Wallets to Invest in WLAN Vendor

Trapeze, Pleasanton, Calif., said it plans to use money from the round D funding to support geographic expansion, bolster its channel programs and expand product development.

On the channel front, the new funding will support Trapeze's efforts to recruit new partners and add channel personnel, said Jim Vogt, CEO of Trapeze.

"We're seeing growth, and a key part of that is recruiting and maintaining a channel," Vogt said.

As wireless technology becomes ubiquitous, new channels are opening up for Trapeze, Vogt said. For example applications such as VoIP and location-based services are opening doors to new sets of partners, he said.

The two companies are now investigating options for how Juniper can work with Trapeze's wireless technology. Co-development, resale and OEM partnerships are all on the table, he said, noting that "nothing is nailed down right now."

First-time Trapeze investor Juniper was joined in the funding round by Nortel Networks as well as several venture capital firms, which all added to previous investments in the wireless vendor.

The investments will strengthen partnerships Trapeze already has with both Juniper and Nortel. Nortel OEMs wireless technology from Trapeze, as do several other networking vendors, including 3Com, D-Link and Enterasys Networks. Trapeze also counts Funk Software among its Solution Alliance partners, which was acquired by Juniper in December.

The investment should also help Trapeze in its bid to chip away at rival Cisco Systems' market-leading hold in the WLAN market. Juniper and Nortel both compete against Cisco on several technology fronts, including networking and security.

Through the first half of 2006, Cisco commanded nearly 57 percent of the enterprise WLAN market and, together with its Linksys division, nearly 38 percent of the overall wireless market by revenue, according to Synergy Research Group.

Trapeze later this week is expected to unveil the newest version of its Mobility System software, adding new security and voice over WLAN features.

Trapeze also plans to unveil its next-generation architecture in about five to six weeks, Vogt said.