Bay is the marriage of Synoptics and Wellfleet. Unfortunately, the marriage has not resulted in a company that is greater than the sum of its parts. Bay has attempted to make, but has not particularly succeeded at making, ATM the centerpiece of its backbone strategy. Bay's best purchase was Centillion, which brought it great switching technology. On the other hand, Bay continues to excel at making fast routers.
Cisco continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
It's the one company in this segment that can drive a standard, particularly in terms of r outing. Its market share makes it the 800-pound gorilla with whom everyone must dance. Cisco has made some great purchases to get into a position to play in other markets. Three that come to mind are LightStream, Kalpana and Crescendo. LightStream gave Cisco credibility in the ATM market, Kalpana gave Cisco a good play in the lower level, and Crescendo is the basis for many of Cisco's Catalyst products.