Market research firm Infonetics Research released excerpts from its 2nd quarter 2012 (2Q12) Data Center Network Equipment vendor market share and forecast report, which tracks data center Ethernet switches, application delivery controllers (ADCs), and WAN optimization appliances.

ANALYST NOTE

“Led by strong performances from Blue Coat, Cisco, and Riverbed, the WAN optimization segment bounced back nicely from its train wreck in the first quarter to double-digit growth,” notes Sam Barnett, directing analyst for data center and cloud at Infonetics Research. “However, we believe that market saturation will hamper any meaningful long-term growth in this space, driving the major players to eye adjacent markets for new revenue opportunities within established and loyal account bases.”

Barnett adds: “Despite modest improvement from the previous quarter, growth in application delivery controllers (ADCs) is slowing from a year ago, due in large part to the lower average selling price of virtual-based solutions. Though on a positive note, Infonetics expects virtual solutions to open the door for the penetration of ADC technology into small- and medium-sized businesses—an area that historically has not been targeted by the leading vendors in this space.”

DATA CENTER NETWORK EQUIPMENT MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• WAN optimization revenue rose 12% sequentially in 2Q12, but is flat year-over-year
• Riverbed dominates the WAN optimization segment, with more than half of worldwide revenue in 2Q12; Cisco remains firmly in 2nd
• The ADC segment grew 3% in 2Q12 from the previous quarter, while its year-over-year growth rate slowed to 13% from much higher growth velocity seen in previous quarters
• In 2Q12, F5 retained its perennial #1 ADC market share position and #2 Citrix continues to gain market share
• 10G ports account for 38% of data center switch ports in 2Q12 – much higher than in the general Ethernet switch market – and are forecast to grow to nearly ¾ of ports by 2016

REPORT SYNOPSIS

Infonetics’ quarterly Data Center Network Equipment report provides worldwide and regional market size, vendor market share, forecasts, and analysis for data center Ethernet switches (general purpose, purpose-built, and blade switches), application delivery controllers (ADCs), and WAN optimization appliances. Companies tracked include Alcatel-Lucent, Blue Coat, Brocade, Cisco, Citrix, Dell, F5, HP, IBM (BNT), Juniper, Radware, Riverbed, and others. To buy the report, contact Infonetics Sales: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp.

RELATED RESEARCH

• Fibre Channel switch market to hit $2.7B by 2016, Brocade leads
• Virtual and data center security appliances to hit $4.4 billion by 2016; vendor battle looming
• Cloud and CPE managed security services forecast to hit $18 billion by 2016
• Enterprises plan 58% increase in data center security spending this year
• Storage area network equipment poised for 50% growth in 2012
• Service providers expanding data center offerings on quest for new revenue
• Operators embracing cloud services in earnest, significantly expanding cloud offerings

UPCOMING RESEARCH

Download Data Center and Cloud report highlights, tables of contents, and prospectuses at http://www.infonetics.com/login, or Infonetics’ Publication Calendar http://bit.ly/zwjcRs.

• 2Q12 SAN Equipment Market Share and Forecast
• Quarterly Total Data Center and SAN Equipment Pivot
• Cloud Service Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey
• Cloud Service Strategies: North American Enterprise Survey
• Data Center Deployment Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey
• Data Center Deployment and SDN Strategies: North American Enterprise Survey

TO BUY REPORTS, CONTACT SALES:

N. America (West), Asia, Latin America: Larry Howard, larry@infonetics.com, +1-408-583-3335

N. America (East), Texas, Midwest: Scott Coyne, scott@infonetics.com, +1-408-583-3395

Europe, Middle East, Africa: George Stojsavljevic, george@infonetics.com, +44-755-488-1623

Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp

Infonetics Research (www.infonetics.com) is an international market research and consulting firm serving the communications industry since 1990. A leader in defining and tracking emerging and established technologies in all world regions, Infonetics helps clients plan, strategize, and compete effectively.

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