Ireland Joins Matisse Board

It was announced this week that Ross Ireland, who was executive vice president of services and CTO for SBC Communications until retiring in 2004, has joined the board of Matisse Networks. Paula Bernier, xchange editor in chief, recently spoke with Ireland about his days at SBC and why he was attracted to join the optical switch company’s board.

XC: Before your departure from SBC, what was keeping SBC execs like you awake at night?

Ireland: It was the rules; the government requirements and laws, the FCC rules, and State PUC rules. I spent a fair amount of time figuring out ways to work within the rules which were very biased, penalizing larger companies in favor of new entrants. For example, large carriers had to sell products wholesale at below cost, and had to build infrastructure with no commitment that a new entrant would buy it. I believe that the rules have improved in the last few years.

XC: What would you suppose is the main concern keeping AT&T and other big service provider execs awake these days?

Ireland: As I said, the rules have improved and there is now more facilities-based competition. As a result, carriers are now looking at their cost structure in an effort to become more competitive in a multi-media packet based environment. The large carriers are going to be reinventing themselves and companies like Matisse can play a significant role in that re-tooling.

XC: What have you been doing since you left SBC in 2004?

Ireland: When I left SBC, I really wanted to stay connected with the industry. I have done that by staying involved at the board level of several communications companies. I have tried to select ones that have a product or value proposition that have game-changing potential. Matisse is a good example of such a company.

XC: What sparked your interest in Matisse?

Ireland: First, I think carrier networks are at a crossroads, and there is an opportunity for a disruptive technology with compelling economics to play a critical role in the emerging market for packet optical transport. Matisse’s EtherBurst optical switch is an exciting development that anticipates the direction carrier transport networks are headed – and that direction is toward packetized optical transport.

Second, I have seen Matisse’s EtherBurst product, and I am impressed with its capability and its network management interface.

Finally, Matisse is well funded, and it has built a knowledgeable and skilled management team with considerable depth in the communications industry.

XC: How did Matisse decide to tap you as a board member?

Ireland: Matisse's Chairman Sam Mathan was the VP of sales at Pacific Bell at a time when I was the CTO, so we have a long history of working together and a great deal of mutual respect for each other.

XC: What do you think you can bring to the organization?

Ireland: I bring 38-plyus years of engineering and operational experience in large carriers.

I believe I can help Matisse package and evolve their products so they are attractive to large carrier/customer buyers. Additionally, I can help Matisse structure the financial terms and conditions they offer so they are the most compelling package for the customer.

XC: Who else is on the board?

Ireland: Sam Mathan, chairman and CEO of Matisse Networks. Claude Hamou, president and COO of Matisse Networks. John Jarve of Menlo Ventures. Andrew Kau of Walden International. And Vince Occhipinti of Woodside Fund.

XC: Where is the status of the Matisse solution?

Ireland: This is a product that is now ready for prime time in terms of both sales and scale. I have seen it in the lab and I am very impressed. I’m also impressed with the elegant network management system. The product completed early beta trials with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and it is currently in active customer trials.

XC: What is the most important recent development in communications and what does it mean for xchange’s service provider readers?

Ireland: The explosive growth of multimedia services, which require a packet-based infrastructure, is one of the most important recent developments in communications. Most carrier networks are not optimized for handling packet-based services; they were designed and built at a time when circuit-based capabilities were most prominent. While legacy SONET/SDH technologies can carry packet services, they are not optimized to do so. xchange’s service provider readers need to look at ways to offer multimedia services at cost parity with providers using contemporary packet infrastructure. I think Matisse's product offers an elegant means of solving this problem.

XC: Please elaborate.

Ireland: To the best of my knowledge, Matisse is the only optically-integrated Ethernet product using burst technology over WDM optics. This should make them a very compelling alternative versus alternative packet optical solutions. Studies to date have shown far better overall cost performance.

XC: What do you expect the communications service provider landscape to look like 10 years from now?

Ireland: I think it will look pretty similar to the way it looks today. Telecom providers have already become communications providers who are rapidly becoming multimedia providers and over time they will evolve to “experience” providers. For example, as you get into more forward-looking gaming using 3D and/or holographs, you are not just being communicated with, you are having an experience. Over the next 10 years I think we will see service providers evolving through technology and or mergers/acquisitions to move down this path towards providing “experiences”, not just communications.

XC: Where do you expect Matisse to be 10 years from now?

Ireland: Matisse’s technology has great value anywhere there is a need to scale networks for multimedia/packet applications, and especially where aggregation and cross-connect operations are performed. To that end, I expect Matisse to move from serving metro aggregation applications to the metro core and beyond by providing inter-office infrastructure for carrier networks. There is a huge opportunity for Matisse, and because of this I expect in 10 years they will be a medium to large provider of optical integrated packet switching products.

Matisse Networks www.matissenetworks.com

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