Cisco Systems is facing increasing pressure from Hewlett-Packard and Juniper Networks in an
Ethernet switching market that saw revenue decline in the first quarter, due to
pricing competition, cutbacks in public spending and seasonal softness,
according to market research firms Canalys and Dell’Oro Group.
In separate reports issued June 1, analysts with the both firms said they expect pressures
on revenue to continue in the second quarter and throughout 2011, though they
noted that the growing 10 Gigabit Ethernet market will remain strong as data
center administrators continue the move from 1GbE environments.
"With most segments expected to decline in 2011, 10 Gigabit Ethernet top-of-rack switches
will be the strongest-performing sector as servers are still in the initial
stages of migrating from multiple Gigabit Ethernet connections to two 10
Gigabit Ethernet connections," Alan Weckel, director of Ethernet switch market
research at Dell’Oro, said in a statement.
Canalys said the 10GbE space saw 69.9 percent revenue increases over the first quarter in
2010. Meanwhile, revenue of 1GbE ports grew 12.4 percent.
"We expect the battle for data center networks to intensify, as leading vendors aim their
fabric strategies at creating simplified architectures," Matthew Ball, director
of enterprise services at Canalys, said in a statement. "The battle for campus
and branch-office environments, however, should not be ignored."
To read the original eWeek article, click here: Cisco, HP, Juniper Competition Drives Down Ethernet Prices: Analysts