May 18 2010
10 years after the telecom bubble burst, the optical components and transceiver industry is booming again.
The current upswing offers a well deserved break for suppliers struggling through years of modest market growth, combined with fierce competition among suppliers and very demanding customers. The question is whether this boom will prove sustainable for more than just a few quarters. While clearly some of the increased activity is a result of several slow quarters in late 2008 and early 2009 as customers are replenishing inventories, a few factors suggest that accelerated market growth will be sustained for several years, including the following:
- LightCounting data on optical transceiver shipments in 2004-2009 suggest that investments in network infrastructure were lagging traffic growth by 10-15% per year, so increased investment may be required now to catch up.
- Major upgrades to datacenters worldwide are clearly underway, fueled by online applications and services. New datacenters require much more optical connectivity than in the past because of increased data rates and changes in datacenter architecture.
"As the tide wave of recovery seems to be lifting all boats, it is important to identify market segments and product categories that will sustain market growth for more than just a few quarters. -- commented Dr. Vladimir Kozlov, founder and CEO of LightCounting. "Over the last 5 years, LightCounting has been working closely will more than 30 optical component and transceiver vendors, analyzing confidential sales data and forecasting market trends. This data proves incredibly valuable now, as our clients look for solid data and objective analysis in a flow of press releases hyping the market growth."
"Despite continuous consolidation, supply chain of the optical networking industry remains fragmented, presenting a unique opportunity for strategically savvy companies to take full advantage of the market recovery", added Brad Smith, Senior VP and analyst at LightCounting.
This report outlines the state of the optical component and transceiver industry, examining the industry dynamics in several market segments including SONET/SDH, Ethernet, Fibre Channel, WDM, FTTx, and optical interconnects. Leading vendors shared confidential sales data with LightCounting that enables an analysis of the market structure. The report also discusses the profitability, diversification and business strategies of optical component and transceiver vendors as well as their customers and suppliers.