Future of core routers looking bleak?

I've always been fascinated by those awesomely powerful core routers, especially the mammoth CRS-3 with switching capacity exceeding 300 Tb/s!😲

But after reading this article on Lightreading#-Link-Snipped-# on how Juniper's Q4 earnings have dropped, I've somehow overlooked the rise of packet-optical transport systems (P-OTS) and content delivery networks (CDNs) owned by carriers themselves. These will somewhat reduce the demand of core routers in the long run.

Should vendors like Cisco & Juniper start catering into P-OTS more? Reposition themselves in the CDN market? Or they over-hyped and that core routers will be still be integral in carrier networks in years to come?

tagging our network guru Durga 😛