The global telecom/datacom equipment and software market grew 19% in 2010, 7% in 2011, and held steady in 2012 at $172 billion, according to Infonetics. The market research firm is now projecting the telecom and datacom equipment and software market to grow at a 4.9% CAGR from 2013 to 2017, when it is forecast to hit $218 billion worldwide.
"Even though there's tremendous uncertainty about the health of the global economy and prospects for economic growth in the short term, the telecom and datacom equipment and software market is on track to grow annually through 2017, driven by major network transformations," reports Jeff Wilson, principal analyst at Infonetics Research.
Michael Howard, co-founder of Infonetics and co-author of the report, adds, "Asia Pacific took the lead in telecom and datacom equipment spending in 2012, and we expect the region to continue leading at least for the next 5 years, contributing more than a third of global spending through 2017."
Some highlights:
- During those 5 years, Infonetics expects service providers and enterprises to spend a cumulative $1 trillion on telecom and datacom equipment and software.
- The top 4 telecom/datacom equipment vendors in order by overall worldwide revenue market share are Cisco, Ericsson, Huawei and Alcatel-Lucent.
- Cisco maintains its commanding lead in the enterprise segment, while Ericsson is #1 in the larger service provider segment
