IDC reports "mixed results" for the global Q1 2013 ethernet switch (Layer 2/3) and router markets, with switch revenues growing by 2.1% Y-o-Y to $5.28 billion and routers dropping by -7.3% Y-o-Y.
W. Europe remains "an area of weakness" for ethernet switches-- Q1 2013 declines total -6.2% Y-o-Y, even if this is an improvement over the double-digit Y-o-Y declines seen during Q3 and Q4 2012.
In contrast, C. and European growth reaches 10.3% Y-o-Y.
"While 10GbE continues to drive the worldwide ethernet switch market, it is interesting to note the increasing divergence in the performance of the overall market across the various regions, and in some cases, specific countries," IDC says. "While GbE is still expected to hold its own for the foreseeable future, we expect 10GbE and 40GbE to drive the wired infrastructure market forward in the coming years, both in the datacenter as well as campus core deployments. But as the market evolves, we should expect there will be pronounced market differences across the various theatres."
10Gb ethernet switch (Layer 2/3) revenues grow by 12.9% Y-o-Y to $1.87bn during Q1 2013, while 10Gb ethernet switch port shipments reach 3.9m units with 37.6% Y-o-Y growth-- making 10GbE the primary driver for the overall ethernet switch market.
Layer 4-7 switches see the 1st annual decline in over 3 years of -4.3 Y-o-Y.
Meanwhile the Q1 2013 WW enterprise and service provider router market drops by -7.9% Y-o-Y and -13% Q-o-Q, with uneven performance across major geographies and countries.
The W. European market is down by -20.5% Y-o-Y (a "significant market move by any standard"), while MEA drops only by "single digits."
When it comes to vendors Cisco holds 62.7% share of the Q1 2013 ethernet switch (Layer 2/3) market, a decrease from 64.1% share in Q1 2012. It also holds 66.7% of the Q1 2013 10GbE segment.