Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) has no problem cashing in on the Australian government's National Broadband Network (NBN) providers' need for more network gear to carry their services.
In response to that need, Juniper announced that it would increase the number of employees in the region over the next three to four years. Already, it has increased the size of its offices in Melbourne and Sydney, which will now include certification and testing labs.
Likewise, Juniper is seeing growth in New Zealand and will increase its employee count in that country as well.
Mark Iles, Juniper Networks vice president, Australia and New Zealand, told The Australian that they "do see a fair chunk of growth from the NBN for our core routing and switching products," adding that "there's a big opportunity for us in providing additional services as companies build applications and services on the (NBN)."
From an application point of view, the main drivers Juniper is seeing are the ongoing cloud services drive and the need to secure mobile devices through its Pulse security suite. On the cloud side, Juniper is seeing a new surge in upgrading existing data centers and building new ones.
What's significant about Juniper's hiring drive in Australia and New Zealand is that it comes at a time when its rival Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) is laying off 6,500 employees, although it's not clear what effect that measure will have in either region.
For more:
- The Australian has this article
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