The combined SAN switch and adapter market totaled $755 million globally in 1Q11, up 0.8% from the previous quarter, and up 9.8% from the first quarter of 2010, according to a new report from Infonetics Research which tracks storage area network (SAN) switches and adapters.
"We see steady growth ahead for the overall SAN equipment market. The long shift to cloud computing will propel the SAN switch market to more than triple from 2010 to 2015, and we forecast the SAN adapter market to grow at a 20% compound annual growth rate from 2010 to 2015, spurred by demand for FCoE (Fiber Channel over Ethernet) converged network adapters," expects Michael Howard, co-founder and principal analyst for carrier and data center networks at Infonetics Research.
Other highlights include:
- SAN switch revenue grew 4% and adapters declined 8% in 1Q11 from 4Q10.
- While most vendors in the SAN switch and adapter space had a down 1Q11 and lost share, Cisco picked up 3 percentage points of market share.
- Meanwhile, perennial market leader Brocade's market share and revenue held steady.
- FCoE (Fiber Channel over Ethernet) switches represent 15% of the total SAN switch market, and are expected to be a strong growth driver moving forward.
