HANOVER, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The 2016 Optical Equipment Vendor Leadership Global Service Provider Survey by IHS Markit , a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, named Ciena^® (NYSE: CIEN) the overall leader in six of the nine categories of its annual marketplace survey. Using online, telephone and in-person survey methods, the 2016 survey quantified the opinions of global service providers in an effort to answer the question: “What does the customer think?”

Key Facts:

• Ciena was most cited as a leading supplier in key market categories, highlighting overall brand strength. The categories included: Optical Transmission and Switching, Data Center Interconnect (DCI), Packet-Optical Transport Systems (P-OTS) and Transport Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Control Plane.
  • Ciena’s continued focus on software solutions, as well as its acquisition of Cyan, resulted in the company claiming the top spot in Transport SDN & Control Plane by a wide margin (14 percent above the next supplier).
  • Ciena made large gains in the DCI market, with 68 percent of respondents selecting the company as a leader. Though Ciena was also a leader in this category in last year’s survey, the percentage increase in 2016 was large and took Ciena and the number two supplier in the category ahead of the rest of the group by a significant margin.
• Survey respondents were also asked to name leaders for several supplier selection criteria.
  • Ciena was named an individual leader in Technology Innovation, Research and Development (R&D) investment and Solution Breadth.
  • Ciena tied for the leading position in the categories of Product Reliability, Service and Support and Management Software.
  • Ciena is perceived as having the broadest optical transmission portfolio, which includes everything from metro, long-haul to subsea, as well as DCI and SDN.

Executive Comments:

• “While many factors go into purchasing decisions, how a customer evaluates a solution and its perception of a vendor is a critical piece of the puzzle. Our annual Optical Equipment Vendor Leadership Global Service Provider Survey aims to quantify service provider perceptions of vendor leadership in established and emerging segments of optical networking, as well as against key purchasing decision criteria. In this year’s study, Ciena stood out as the top overall optical transmission and switching supplier.”
  
  - Heidi Adams, Senior Research Director, Transport Networks, IHS Markit

• “It is a great honor to know that service providers perceive Ciena above all other vendors in the optical market. This recognition comes from the combination of high levels of customer trust, the strategic partnerships our team facilitates and how strongly our technology performs against the competition in the marketplace. In 2017, we will continue to deliver innovative, differentiated offerings and reinforce the value of software as a driver of openness and choice.”
  
  - Francois Locoh-Donou, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Ciena

About Ciena

Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a network strategy and technology company. We translate best-in-class technology into value through a high-touch, consultative business model – with a relentless drive to create exceptional experiences measured by outcomes. For updates on Ciena, follow us on Twitter @Ciena, LinkedIn, the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.

Note to Ciena Investors

You are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website, where we routinely post press releases, SEC filings, recent news, financial results, and other announcements. From time to time we exclusively post material information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, forecasts, information and assumptions. These statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those stated or implied, as a result of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in our most recent annual or quarterly report filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies and can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will," and "would" or similar words. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Results based on IHS Markit Inc. Optical Equipment Vendor Leadership Service Provider Survey: 2 December 2016. Your experiences may vary. This data is not an endorsement of Ciena and all results are “as is”. Any reliance on the results is at third party’s own risk. Visit technology.ihs.com for more details.

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