Worldwide Ethernet switch revenue continued to grow in 4Q13, up 3% from 3Q13, to $5.4 billion; more important, the market remained positive (+3%) on a year-over-year basis, according to a new report from Infonetics Research.
“2013 was a bumpy year for the Ethernet switch market, but in the end, revenue set another record and passed the $20 billion mark. While 10G was once again the key growth driver, we’re finally seeing this segment mature after a decade, and 40G is now taking over as the new high-growth segment,” notes Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics Research.
Some additional highlights:
- In general, buyers are shifting their purchases toward switches with advanced capabilities such as management features, power-over-Ethernet, and higher speeds, to deal with the increasing demands that applications are placing on network infrastructure
- 100G ports shipments once again doubled quarter-over-quarter, and Infonetics expects the 100G market to gain critical mass in 2015
- North America and China were the top-performing geographies in Ethernet switch sales in 2013
- Huawei’s Ethernet switch revenue soared 80% sequentially in 4Q13, propelling the vendor into the #4 spot behind Cisco, HP, and Juniper
