Worldwide Ethernet switch revenues grew 22.0% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2022 (4Q22) to $10.3 billion and grew 18.7% for the full year 2022 to $36.5 billion, according to the recently published International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Ethernet Switch Tracker and Worldwide Quarterly Router Tracker.
The total worldwide enterprise and service provider (SP) router market recorded $4.6 billion in revenue in 4Q22, a 0.7% year-over-year increase. For the full year, router market revenues increased 3.9% to $16.5 billion. Worldwide Ethernet switch revenues 18.7% for the full year 2022 to $36.5 billion while the service provider router market grew 3.9% to $16.5 billion
Ethernet Switch Market Highlights
- The Ethernet switch market’s growth of 22.0% year over year in 4Q22 builds on growth of 23.9% in the third quarter of 2022.
- Annual growth of 18.7% for the full year builds on the market growing 9.7% in 2021 compared to 2020. In the fourth quarter, the Ethernet switch market showed strength across both the datacenter and non-datacenter segments of the market.
- Revenues in the non-datacenter/enterprise campus and branch segment grew 22.6% year over year in 4Q22, while port shipments rose 18.0% year over year.
- For the full year, non-datacenter Ethernet switch revenues rose 15.7% while port shipments grew 12.2%.
- Revenues in the datacenter portion of the market rose 21.2% year over year in 4Q22, while port shipments increased 17.3%.
- For the full year, datacenter ethernet switch revenues rose 22.6% year over year and port shipments increased 12.2%.
- Market revenues for 200/400 GbE switches rose more than 300% for the full year in 2022 but were flat at 0.7% sequential growth from 3Q22 to 4Q22.
- 100GbE revenues increased 18.7% year over year in 4Q22 and rose 22.0% for the full year. 25/50 GbE revenues increased 30.1% year over year in 4Q22 and rose 29.8% for the full year.
- Revenues for 1GbE switches rose 21.4% year over year in 4Q22 and grew 12.6% for the full year. 10GbE switches rose 1.0% year over year in the quarter but were flat at 0.4% for the full year.
- 2.5/5GbE switch revenue – also known as multi-gigabit Ethernet switches – rose 122.1% year over year in 4Q22, with 53.1% sequential growth from 3Q22 to 4Q22.
“Strong growth in the Ethernet switch market continued in the fourth quarter of 2022, driven by a variety of trends, but the most significant factor was the continued easing of component shortages and a reduction in supply chain disruptions,” said Brad Casemore, research vice president, Cloud and Datacenter Networks, IDC. “Meanwhile, enterprises, service providers, and hyperscalers continue to build out Ethernet switching capacity, reinforcing the importance of connectivity and network infrastructure in today’s digital-first business world.”
Router Market Highlights
- The service provider segment, which includes both communications SPs and cloud SPs, accounted for 73.7% of the market’s total revenues.
- The service provider segment of the market decreased 4.0% year over year in 4Q22 and finished the full year up 1.3%.
- Revenues in the enterprise segment account for the remaining share of the market and rose 17.1% year over year in the quarter and increased 12.9% for the full year.
- From a regional perspective, the combined service provider and enterprise router market in the U.S. rose 18.5% year over year in 4Q22 and was up 17.0% for the full year.
- In Canada ,the router market increased 12.3% in the quarter and rose 1.4% for the full year, while in Latin America the market rose 5.2% in 4Q22 and was up 16.7% for the full year.
- In the Asia/Pacific region (excluding Japan & China), the market increased 0.7% in the quarter, but fell 3.9% for the full year.
- Japan’s market was up with 5.6% growth in 4Q22 and a 0.3% increase for the full year.
- The People’s Republic of China market decreased 18.9% in the quarter and 6.7% for the full year.
- Revenues in Western Europe decreased 1.0% in 4Q22 but rose 5.2% for the full year, while the Central and Eastern Europe market was down 17.1% in the quarter and 21.2% for the full year.
- The Middle East & Africa region was up 5.2% in the quarter and grew 3.7% for the full year.