* Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gig markets growing, Dell’Oro Group says
If the economy were different, we might be seeing a rapid and widespread upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet on desktops. But with the slow economy keeping IT budgets tight, the migration from Fast Ethernet to Gigabit is bound to be sluggish.
That’s the conclusion drawn by Dell’Oro Group in a recent report. While prices for Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet are declining fast, the demand just isn’t as pronounced as it was when folks were upgrading from Ethernet to Fast Ethernet on their desktops, the researchers say.
The fact is, many organizations haven’t even turned on the Fast Ethernet capabilities of their networks. And if they have, they certainly aren’t taxing them.
Still, Dell’Oro says Gigabit and 10 Gig will make up 65% of the total $15.2 billion Ethernet switch market in 2007, up from 29% last year.
Prices will be low enough that many users will start to upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet on the desktop late this year, the firm says. By 2005, 10 Gigabit will likely be priced well enough that companies start to look at that technology for enterprise backbones, data centers and inter-campus connections.
More information can be found in Dell’Oro’s Ethernet Switch 5-Year Forecast Report:
