Global enterprise router market down 9 pc 4Q11

MASSACHUSETTS, USA: The global enterprise router market - including high-end, mid-range, branch, and low-end/SOHO routers - declined nine per cent to $834 million between the fourth quarter of 2011 (4Q11) and the first quarter of 2012 (1Q12), reports market research firm Infonetics Research in its quarterly Enterprise Routers vendor market share and forecast report.

From the year-ago first quarter, global enterprise router revenue is up a modest two per cent, and unit shipments are up four per cent.

"Enterprise router sales in North America are down 10% sequentially, but up a promising 8% from the year-ago first quarter, by far the best regional performance of the first quarter," explains Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics Research. "Meanwhile, economic trouble in Europe is clearly visible, with sales falling both sequentially and from a year ago, and the situation is unlikely to improve soon, given the uncertain political environment and doubts over Greece's stay in the euro. In China, where router sales popped last quarter, the market dropped 20% sequentially, and worryingly, year-over-year growth slowed to a crawl, up just 2 per cent."

Low-end/SOHO router revenue, though down sequentially in 1Q12, posted the largest year-over-year increase, up 44 per cent.

Machowinski adds: "Despite the seasonally down first quarter, the enterprise router market continues to grow, albeit slowly. There is demand for routers, but the quest for lower-priced equipment, competition, economic concerns, and a weak public sector make stronger revenue growth elusive."

High-end routers, also down sequentially, are holding up well on a year-over-year basis, as buyers make necessary core network upgrades.

Mid-range routers had the poorest performance of the quarter, as buyers substituted with lower-cost equipment, and purchases from the public sector (a major buyer of mid-range routers) continued to decline.

Perennial market leader Cisco modestly increased its overall enterprise router share during the last two quarters, posting its largest revenue market share in 12 months, at 74.7 per cent in 1Q12.

In terms of unit share, the top 5 enterprise router vendors in 1Q12 are Cisco, HP, OneAccess, ADTRAN and Huawei, with Huawei making the biggest gains: unit shipments are up 130 per cent and revenue is up 79 per cent since the year-ago first quarter.