Data Center

Report: Software-defined networking (SDN) market worth > $3.5 billion by 2018

Aug. 26, 2013

Enterprises represented 35% of the SDN market in 2012; however, cloud service providers are expected to be the fastest growing market segment in coming years.

Matt Vincent

The interest in software-defined networking (SDN) will translate into a global market worth $3.52 billion by 2018, says a new study by Transparency Market Research. The increasing need for efficient infrastructure and mobility, as well as the popularity of cloud services, will drive this growth, according to the report. The market research firm predicts SDN spending worldwide will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 61.5% from 2012 to 2018. Transparency Research cites three main markets for SDN: enterprises, cloud services providers, and telecommunications services providers.

Enterprises represented 35% of the SDN market in 2012. However, cloud service providers are expected to be the fastest growing market segment throughout the years the report covers. Transparency Research says that SDN’s ability to reduce opex and capex while enabling the delivery of new services will spearhead its use by cloud service providers.

Cloud provisioning and orchestration products currently dominate the global SDN market, the report states. SDN switching held the second largest revenue share of the SDN market in 2012. SDN products and applications also will be used to design, optimize, secure, and monitor the network, the market research firm predicts.

See: Flexi-grid system leverages SDN to dynamically control optical network connections

North America currently is the largest market for SDN technology, thanks to a high degree of standardization and favorable regulatory initiatives. Not surprisingly, Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region during forecast period, fueled by the increasing adoption of BYOD practices in China, India, and Australia. In this early stage, the SDN industry is fragmented, the report asserts. Multiple players have moved to address different categories including hardware providers, software developers, and service providers.

The new report, Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2012 - 2018, segments the global SDN market into users, products (including SDN switching, SDN controllers, cloud provisioning and orchestration, and others such as security and services), and region. Transparency Research names Cisco, IBM, NEC, Juniper Networks, Alcatel-Lucent, VMware, HP, Google, Big Switch Networks, Arista Networks, Brocade Communications Systems, Verizon Communications, and Intel as among the technology's primary players.

More: OIF lays foundation for transport SDN

Source: Lightwave

About the Author

Matt Vincent | Senior Editor

Matt Vincent is a B2B technology journalist, editor and content producer with over 15 years of experience, specializing in the full range of media content production and management, as well as SEO and social media engagement best practices, for both Cabling Installation & Maintenance magazine and its website CablingInstall.com. He currently provides trade show, company, executive and field technology trend coverage for the ICT structured cabling, telecommunications networking, data center, IP physical security, and professional AV vertical market segments. Email: [email protected]