Market research firm Infonetics Research released preliminary results for the application delivery controller (ADC) and wide area network (WAN) optimization markets from its 3rd quarter 2012 (3Q12) Data Center Network Equipment report. (Full report published December 7.)

ANALYST NOTE

"While ADCs and WAN optimization appliances posted modest revenue gains in the 3^rd quarter, the pace of growth in these segments decelerated year-over-year," notes Sam Barnett, directing analyst for data center and cloud at Infonetics Research. “Top-line revenue growth in the ADC market is slowing due to the lower ASPs associated with virtual solutions versus their hardware-based counterparts, and saturation at the high end of the WAN optimization market is pressuring near-term growth.”

“That said,” Barnett adds, “We believe this will change as more virtualized solutions enter the mainstream, helping to restore higher levels of overall growth to the WAN optimization and application delivery controllers markets.”

DATA CENTER NETWORK EQUIPMENT MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• Worldwide ADC revenue rose 5% in 3Q12 from 2Q12, but year-over-year (YoY) growth decelerated again and now stands at +6%, falling from +27% YoY growth in 3Q11
• F5 continues to lead the pack in ADCs, capturing nearly half of 3Q12 revenue; Citrix and Cisco round out the top 3 market share slots
• Cisco recently announced its intention to exit the ADC market, presenting an opportunity for F5 and Citrix to grow market share going forward
• WAN optimization revenue grew 3% sequentially in 3Q12, but is down 4% from the year-ago 3^rd quarter
• Perennial leader Riverbed again dominated the WAN optimization segment in 3Q12, with almost 3/5 market share; Cisco remains solidly in 2nd place

REPORT SYNOPSIS

Infonetics’ quarterly data center network equipment report provides worldwide and regional market size, vendor market share, forecasts, analysis, and trends for data center Ethernet switches (general purpose, purpose-built, and blade switches), ADCs, and WAN optimization appliances. Companies tracked include Alcatel-Lucent, Blue Coat, Brocade, Cisco, Citrix, Dell, F5, HP, IBM (BNT), Juniper, Radware, Riverbed, and others. To buy the report, contact Infonetics Sales: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp.

RELATED RESEARCH

• Infonetics’ latest Data Center and Cloud research brief: http://bit.ly/SqwRuY
• New study details enterprises’ plans for cloud services
• Enterprises embracing SDN in the data center
• 16G Fibre Channel switch market is skyrocketing
• Double-digit recovery for WAN optimization in Q2; ADC growth rate slows
• Data center equipment up 17% year over year in 1Q12
• Fibre Channel switch market to hit $2.7B by 2016, Brocade leads
• Cloud and CPE managed security services forecast to hit $18 billion by 2016
• Enterprises plan 58% increase in data center security spending this year

RECENT AND UPCOMING RESEARCH

Download Infonetics DATA CENTER AND CLOUD report highlights, tables of contents, prospectuses, market research brochure and events brochure at http://www.infonetics.com/login.

• 1G/10G/40G/100G Networking Ports Market Size and Forecast (Oct. 2)
• Infonetics CRS Report: Huawei 2011 Revenue Reconciliation (Nov. 19)
• Q3 Data Center Equipment Market Share and Forecasts – Full Report (Dec. 7)
• Q3 SAN Equipment Market Share and Forecasts (Dec. 13)
• Q3 Total Data Center and SAN Equipment Pivot (Dec. 19)
• Cloud Service Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey (Dec.)
• Data Center Deployment Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey (Dec.)

UPCOMING INFONETICS EVENTS

• WEBINAR: Extending Integrated Services to SMBs and Branch Offices (Dec. 5)
• WEBINAR: Subscriber Engagement: The Missing Link in Policy Control & Charging (Dec. 11)

TO BUY REPORTS, CONTACT SALES:

N. America (West), Asia, Latin America: Larry Howard, larry@infonetics.com, +1 408-583-3335

N. America (East), Texas, Midwest: Scott Coyne, scott@infonetics.com, +1 408-583-3395

Europe, Middle East, Africa: George Stojsavljevic, george@infonetics.com, +44 755-488-1623

Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp

ABOUT INFONETICS

Infonetics Research (www.infonetics.com) is an international market research and consulting firm serving the communications industry since 1990. A leader in defining and tracking emerging and established technologies in all world regions, Infonetics helps clients plan, strategize, and compete effectively. View Infonetics’ About Us slides at http://bit.ly/QUrbrV.

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