Report: Ethernet Switch Market to Rebound in 2010

According to research from Dell’Oro Group as part of the Ethernet Switch 5-Year Forecast Report, the total Ethernet Switch market will decline almost 20 percent in 2009. This is going to be the sharpest decline since 2001, but after this dip the market will begin to rebound in 2010.

During the next few years, the 10 GE and data center will be catalysts for growth, says the report. Alan Weckel, director of Ethernet Switch Market Research at Dell’ (News - Alert)Oro Group noted the severity of the decline during the first quarter of 2009, and said that it will be difficult for the market to rebound quickly to the revenue and port levels seen in 2008.

Dell’Oro Group sees the data center as one of the largest drivers for growth beyond 2009, and believes the market will begin expanding again in 2010.

The report also shows that in the future, some vendors will provide a more holistic product offering for the data center. Some examples include Cisco’s (News - Alert) move into the server market, HP’s expansion of its data center portfolio and IBM’s entrance into the Ethernet Switch market.

This latest report from the research firm offers a complete overview of the Ethernet Switch industry and includes tables covering manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, and port shipments (by speed Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet) for Layers 2-3 (both managed and unmanaged), and Layers 4-7.