1Q12 excerpts from Infonetics on Wireless
LAN equipments and Ethernet switch market
Infonetics Research has released the following two excerpts
from its first quarter 2012 (1Q12) vendor market share and
forecast reports.
1. Wireless LAN equipment and WiFi phones
2. Ethernet switches
"Sales of wireless LAN and Ethernet switching gear
declined sequentially in the first quarter of 2012, mostly
due to a typical seasonal buying lull, but also due to weakness
in the EMEA region," explains Matthias Machowinski,
directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics
Research. "Despite the sequential lull, on a year-over-year
basis, WLAN market growth remains strong, up in the double
digits for the 10th straight quarter."
Machowinski adds: "Wireless LAN is the more exciting
part of the enterprise networking market, but a number of
interesting things are happening on the wired side as well,
including tremendous revenue growth in the 10G Ethernet
switch segment, where port shipments doubled year-over-year
and revenue is set to hit the $10-billion mark next year,
as well as rapid adoption of the latest technology arrival,
40G Ethernet, which has already exceeded expectations."
Wireless LAN market highlights:
1. In 1Q12, due to seasonal buying trends, the global wireless
LAN equipment revenue dipped 4% from
the previous quarter to $859 million.
2. Access point (AP) shipments have more than doubled over
the last 5 years, and over 3/4 of all units are
based on 802.11n technology
3. #1 player Cisco increased its market share in 1Q12, as
did #2 player Aruba, while Motorola edged ahead
of HP by a hair and Ruckus maintained its 5th position
4. In 1Q12, Vocera, Polycom, and Cisco continued their tight
battle for the lead in the single-mode WiFi phone
market, all within several revenue market-share points of
each other
Infonetics' quarterly Wireless LAN equipment and WiFi phones
report tracks Aerohive, Alcatel-Lucent, Aruba, BelAir, Brocade,
Cisco, D-Link, Enterasys, Extreme, Juniper, Meru, Motorola,
NETGEAR, Polycom, HP, Ruckus, SMC, Xirrus, and others. The
report provides market size, market share, analysis, and
forecasts for interactive, independent, and outdoor access
points (including AP forecasts by technology: 802.11 a/b/g,
802.11n, 802.11ac), WLAN controllers, and enterprise single-mode
WiFi phones.
Ethernet switch market highlights:
1. Global Ethernet switch revenue totaled $4.7 billion in
1Q12, down 9% from the previous quarter, but up
by double-digit percentages from the year-ago 1st quarter
2. Revenue and port growth was well balanced as vendors
continued to successfully sell higher-priced products
(such as data center switches) and faster ports
3. Following a 31% spike the previous quarter, 10G Ethernet
port shipments declined 1% in 1Q12; quarterly
shipments are still double that of a year ago, benefitting
from data center upgrades, 10G server
adoption, server virtualization, and core network buildouts
4. 40G Ethernet sales jumped 50% in 1Q12 from 4Q11, driven
by dedicated 40G fixed switches (16xQSFP+)
5. After HP acquired 3Com, Cisco lost Ethernet switch revenue
market share 4 quarters in a row, but Cisco
is back to posting market share gains, albeit modest, on
a year-over-year basis
6. North American Ethernet switch revenue is down 11% sequentially
due to seasonal trends, but growth
jumped 14% from the year-ago 1st quarter
Infonetics' quarterly Ethernet Switch report tracks Adtran,
Alcatel-Lucent, Alaxala, Arista, Avaya, Brocade, Cisco,
D-Link, Dell, Enterasys, Extreme, Hitachi-Cable, HP, Huawei,
IBM, Juniper, NETGEAR, LG-Ericsson, and others. The report
provides market size, market share, forecasts, and analysis
for fixed configuration Ethernet switches (unmanaged, Web-managed,
and Layer 2 and Layer 3 managed switches) and chassis Ethernet
switches by port type (10/100M, 1G, 10G, 40G, and 100G).
Author: Srinivasa Reddy N
