Forecast: Data center, campus technology transitions will drive Ethernet switch market

According to a recent report by Dell’Oro Group, the Layer 2-3 Ethernet switch market is forecast to reach almost $25 billion by 2017.

“Technology transitions are changing the way IT managers look at their network topologies," observes Alan Weckel, vice president at Dell’Oro Group. "Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and the unprecedented growth in the number of personal devices accessing business networks is driving this change. Today, most enterprises look at the purchase of Ethernet switching and wireless LAN (WLAN) as separate decisions and for different applications."

Dell'Oro contends that the market's growth in coming years will be driven primarily by sales of Ethernet switches optimized for larger data center deployments, and a continued migration towards faster speeds in campus networks.

Weckel adds, “Ethernet switching is typically deployed for user access and WLAN for user mobility in the enterprise. During the forecast period, we expect enterprises to focus primarily on user access regardless of the underlying technology, with a small but growing number of enterprises using WLAN as the main connectivity option for a user. This will likely lead to a tighter coupling of WLAN and Ethernet switch technologies during the forecast period."

The report shows that Fixed 10 Gigabit Ethernet revenues are projected to achieve the highest growth during the forecast period, with demand from both campus and data centers. Vendors with current Ethernet Switch offerings in the segment include: Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Brocade, Cisco, Enterasys, Extreme, Dell, HP, IBM, and Juniper.

The Dell’Oro Group's 5-Year Forecast 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 (GE), 10 GE, 40 GE, 100 GE) for Layers 2-3 (managed and unmanaged). Contact Julie Learmond-Criqui at [email protected] for more information.