Time for a Switch

Ethernet vendors face reinvention to adapt offerings for new consumption models

Speeds and feeds as an Ethernet differentiator are over. Ethernet macho will be based much more on offering adaptable consumption models than raw throughput.

Dell'Oro states that Ethernet switch vendors must "reinvent themselves" to address a wide array of customers looking to purchase in different ways. The decades-long way of per-port pricing and flexing density pecs is coming to a close. Says Dell'Oro:

Simply offering the next port speed or a new feature will not suffice, as products purchased by the customer-of-the-future will look fundamentally different from those offered today.

We're seeing this now with disaggregation, subscription-based pricing and cloud-based WLAN solutions. The market is larger if switches appeal to more than one. And buyers are much more interested in OPEX now, not CAPEX, Dell'Oro notes.

Nonetheless, the market for Ethernet switches as-we-now-know-them will grow to more than $25 billion in 2019, a 1.7% compounded annual growth of $23 billion in 2014. Data center upgrades to 100G and enterprise adoption of 2.5G and 5G are steering it.

Multigigabit, or 2.5G and 5G, ports are targeted at high-speed campus wireless LAN connectivity. They are designed to support newer, higher speed access points, like 802.11ac Wave 2.

Dell'Oro says the WLAN market remains on track to record revenues approaching $13 billion by 2019, up from $9 billion in 2014. New growth catalysts include 802.11ac Wave 2, E-Rate funding, cloud-managed technology and new vendors.

More from Cisco Subnet:

Cisco's new leadership team is...

Cisco's two presidents resigning

Cisco sees Internet half full

Cisco loses patent appeal

HP buying SDN company for NFV

Cisco's IoE keeps abreast of cancer

Cisco bypassed Russia sanctions to continue sales: report

Cisco, Chambers looking for one last shot at VMware?

Cisco's Chambers: A Retrospective

Cisco taps veteran Robbins to succeed Chambers as CEO

Follow all Cisco Subnet bloggers on Twitter.Jim Duffy on Twitter

 

 

 

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.

Tags NetworkingDellNoneCisco Subnet

More about CiscoDellDell'OroHPLANTwitter

Show Comments
[]