Networking News
Extreme Networks CEO: Beating Cisco An ‘Exclamation Mark’ On Fiscal Year 2022
Gina Narcisi
“We’re the right size company to work with. Partners feel like when they work with Extreme they can make a difference and they can influence our decision making. I’m not sure that’s true with our competitors,” Extreme Networks’ CEO Ed Meyercord tells CRN following the end of the company’s record-breaking fiscal 2022.
Smaller, Yet Mighty
Extreme Networks’ fiscal 2022, which ended in July, was highlighted by year-over-year double-digit booking growth that beat out what its competition — namely, Cisco — is doing, according to company CEO Ed Meyercord. Extreme in its most recent quarter saw 24 percent bookings growth compared to Cisco’s most recent quarter of product order growth, up 8 percent year over year.
During the San Jose, Calif.-based company’s final fiscal quarter of 2022, which ended June 30, Extreme’s product backlog grew to $513 million. The company landed a record 208 new, large customers, which included LG Electronics and SK Telecom. Extreme saw total SaaS subscription bookings growth of 58 percent year over year. Overall, it posted 10.2 percent revenue growth year over year, which Meyercord compared to Cisco’s flat revenue during its most recent quarter. “It’s just a clear exclamation mark on the fact that Extreme is taking share in the marketplace,” Meyercord told CRN.
Still, supply chain issues continue to impact Extreme just as it does nearly every other company across many industries and verticals. The company’s record backlog needs to be addressed to turn orders into revenue for both Extreme and its partners. The work is happening, and Extreme expects to unlock revenues for these high-quality orders by next summer. Meanwhile, partners are to thank for many of the large customer wins that Extreme landed in fiscal 2022. To that end, the company is sharpening its focus on the channel with a handful of new benefits for partners and headcount – which includes newly-hired Scott Peterson as channel chief – to help partners grow even faster.
After another strong fiscal quarter of continuing to gain market share via organic growth and battling supply chain challenges, Meyercord talked with CRN about all the progress, partner program updates and the company’s passion for DEI. Here’s what Meyercord had to say.
