Report: 'Evolving' Ethernet switch market posts record quarter amid challenges
According to a recent report by telecommunications and networking industries analyst Dell’Oro Group, the Layer 2-3 Ethernet Switch market continued to exceed $5 billion, reaching a new record level worldwide and in North America in the third quarter of 2013. This record was achieved despite mid-single-digit year-over-year declines in Asia Pacific and Latin America and a vendor landscape that's evolving quickly, reveals the analyst.
“Aside from the record quarter and the anticipated record year for switching in 2013, there are several large headwinds developing that will make it challenging for the market to grow significantly in 2014,” cautions Alan Weckel, vice president of Ethernet Switch market research at Dell’Oro Group.
Related: Analyst says Ethernet switch market undergoing dramatic changes
“One important issue is a changed China and how vendors compete there," continues Weckel. "Outside of multinationals moving into the region, for the foreseeable future China is no longer a market that US-based vendors can compete in effectively. While this situation does not impact our port projections, we anticipate that the lack of US-based vendors in many of the larger RFPs will have a negative impact on the region’s average selling prices,” he added.
The report also shows that 10GBase-T port shipments were the strongest area of growth within the larger 10 Gigabit Ethernet segment. Even though vendors increased their offerings, only three manufacturers as broken out in the report exceeded ten thousand 10GBase-T port shipments in the quarter.
The Dell’Oro Group's Ethernet Switch Quarterly Report provides an overview of the Ethernet Switch industry with tables covering manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, and port/unit shipments by speed (Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 40 Gigabit Ethernet, 100 Gigabit Ethernet) for Layers 2-3, both managed and unmanaged.
Learn more about the report.
