Study: 0.81% Growth in Australian Network Infrastructure Market

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The Australian Enterprise and Service Provider (SP) Ethernet Switch market grew by 10.1% in 2018, according to IDC's APAC Quarterly Ethernet Switch Tracker. At US$ 614 million in revenue, the market was at its highest in the last five years, thanks to increased shipment of high-speed ports (i.e. 25 Gigabits per second (Gbps), 50Gbps and 100Gbps). Enterprises' spend on private and public cloud services continue to drive demand. Cisco continues to lead the way with 65% of the market, followed by HPE Networks (9.5%), Juniper Networks (3.8%), Arista (3.4%).ODM Direct, also known as White Box Manufacturers round of the rest with 2.6% share in 2018.

Unfortunately, the news was not positive for the Australian Enterprise and SP Router market. The Router market showed YoY revenue decline of 6.2% and ended at US$329.34 million in 2018, according to IDC's APAC Quarterly Router Tracker. Cisco continues to dominate with 71.6% share, followed by Juniper Networks (11.8%), Nokia (7.2%), Huawei (7%) and Ericsson (1.4%).

The Router market has been negatively influenced by the reduction of SPs spending, as they prepare to upgrade to 5G mobile technology.

The Australian Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) market (Enterprise, Service Provider and Consumer Markets)- generated revenue of US$ 186.92 million in 2018, a decline of 11.9% YoY. In the last quarter of 2018, 86% of the total units shipped were 802.11ac access points. In this market, Cisco remained on top by holding a market share of 49.2%. They were followed by Netgear (11.2%), HPE (10.7%), Riverbed (4.9%) and D-Link (3.9%). The decline was caused by the combination of low sales in the consumer/retail sector (the lowest in 5 years) and delays caused by the enterprises as many waited for the new 802.11ax (WiFi-6) standard to be introduced in this market.

“Overall, the Networking Infrastructure market experienced a stagnant growth (0.81% YoY) in 2018. Growth achieved by the Ethernet Switch market was offset by the decline in the Router and Wireless LAN markets. IDC expects this stagnation to be temporary. Mobile Networks upgrade to 5G and Wireless LAN access points refresh to the 802.11ax standard will drive demand and once again, drive positive growth back to the networking infrastructure market," says Ahmar Karimullah, IDC Australia’s ANZ Networking Infrastructure Market Analyst.

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About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight help IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company.