Xena Networks, a startup developer of high-performance, low-cost gigabit wire speed-enabling Ethernet test solutions, has been presented the Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) "2010 Global Gigabit Ethernet Test Equipment Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award."

Each year, the Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award is presented to a company that has demonstrated excellence in growth strategy, growth implementation, degree of innovation with products and technologies, leadership in customer value and speed of response to market needs.

As an emerging player in the global gigabit Ethernet test equipment market, Xena has exhibited its entrepreneurial spirit by addressing some of the key deficiencies of the market; namely, the need for Ethernet test solutions that are affordable, easy-to-use, and flexible, in terms of applications.

"The cornerstone of Xena's growth strategy is its exclusive focus on Ethernet networking technology and analysis products that display demonstrable price/performance leadership," said Prathima Bommakanti, research analyst, Frost & Sullivan, in a statement.

Bommakanti said that Xena's solutions cost less than $10,000 per 10GbE test port, in comparison to typical solutions which cost $20,000 to $40,000 per 10GbE test port.

Officials with Xena said that acknowledging the distinct advantages offered by its solutions, the company’s channel sales partners are featuring the company in their product portfolios.

Company officials said that Xena's messaging, positioning and business strategies are proving to be extremely effective with network equipment manufacturers (NEMs), network service providers and enterprises in the financial, governmental, and broadcast content distribution sectors.

In 2008 and 2009, the company recruited representatives from the best channel partners across all major technology markets around the globe including Europe, North America and Oceania. Presently, it is pursuing recruitment efforts in Asia.

This strategy will enable the company to effectively cater to the gigabit Ethernet test equipment space throughout varied time zones and geographic markets.

According to company officials, the company is also pursuing an ecosystem partnership strategy. As a part of this strategy, it has partnered with one of the leading companies in the sphere of compliance testing, particularly in Metro Ethernet Forum (News - Alert) (MEF) conformance testing.

The company has also extended this partnership strategy to include a test automation partner.

"Xena delivers value, by offering a breakthrough price performance ratio with its innovative Ethernet test solutions for the Ethernet ecosystem," remarks Bommakanti.

She said that additionally, its test platform offers an open environment, which enables network traffic from third party test suites or software applications to be integrated with L2-3 traffic generated at wire speed.

Company officials pointed out that Xena’s Ethernet traffic network test and analysis platforms are easy to scale from 1Mbps to 100Gbps. Its solutions allow remote management of test equipment which are situated across different locations and incorporate an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI).

Xena firmly believes that its products should provide increasing value with use over time. In this context, it offers a complimentary 12-month hardware warranty and lifetime technical support.

It also offers a complimentary 36-month software maintenance agreement, through which customers can receive updates on ongoing product developments, improvements and enhancements.

"The company rapidly responds to market needs through its flexible product development policy," adds Bommakanti.

She said that upon receiving customer requests for specific product features, it performs a quick assessment of its implementation on its business, and commits to providing customers with the accepted features requested within 30 days of receiving the order.