Data center/enterprise SDN market to exceed $1.4 billion in 2015: IHS

Use of software-defined networking (SDN) technology in data centers and enterprise LANs continues to grow strongly, says IHS (NYSE: IHS). Spending on SDN technology for such applications should almost double from 2014 and exceed $1.4 billion this year, according to the market research firm's new "IHS Infonetics Data Center and Enterprise SDN Hardware and Software" report.

The first half of the year saw bare metal switches account for 45% of global in-use SDN-capable Ethernet switch revenue, IHS data indicates. White-box switch vendors control the largest share of bare metal switch revenues. Dell enjoys 100% percent of branded bare metal switch revenue, while HP has the largest share of SDN-capable (in-use and not-in-use) branded Ethernet switch ports, the report reveals.

In-use virtual switch (vSwitch) ports are expected to compose 11% of SDN (in-use and not-in-use) ports shipped by the end of this year, IHS adds.

"New SDN use cases continue to emerge, and the first half of 2015 was no exception with the establishment of the software-defined enterprise WAN (SD-WAN) market. The SD-WAN market is still small, but many startups and traditional WAN optimization appliance vendors and network vendors have jumped in," said Cliff Grossner, Ph.D., research director for data center, cloud and SDN at IHS.

"The data center and enterprise LAN SDN market will be solidified by the end of 2016 as lab trials give way to live production deployments. And in 2017, SDN will move from early adopters into the hands of mainstream buyers," Grossner added.

Along these lines, SDN in-use physical Ethernet switches will compose 15% of Ethernet switch market revenue in 2017, up from 4% today, IHS forecasts.

The biannual "IHS Infonetics Data Center and Enterprise SDN Hardware and Software" report offers worldwide and regional vendor market share, market size, forecasts, analysis, and trends for SDN controllers, bare metal Ethernet switches and branded Ethernet switches in use for SDN. The report tracks and forecasts SDN controllers and Ethernet switches in-use for SDN separately from not-in-use SDN-capable Ethernet switches.

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