What Are the Growth Prospects for Industrial Ethernet?
Industrial Ethernet has been experiencing stellar growth during the past few years. Industrial Ethernet network infrastructure (Ethernet switches, media converters, device servers, etc.) have also grown in lock step, as a result of manufacturers’ growing preference for using Ethernet devices on the plant floor, in the manufacturing process, and in many other related factory and plant applications.
As Ethernet deployment in industrial environments has grown, the types of Ethernet switches deployed have evolved dramatically. A distinct class of Ethernet switching products and a new market segment for industrial Ethernet network infrastructure has developed. Such infrastructure consists primarily of Ethernet switches, but also includes network media converters, Ethernet-enabled device servers, protocol converters, and monitoring software. There are a number of features that are distinctive of these “industrial” Ethernet switches and infrastructure. The presence of these features is the primary reason why this industrial market is very distinct from the larger commercial and Enterprise IT Ethernet market.
This new report is ARC’s first Market Outlook report focused entirely on the market for industrial Ethernet network infrastructure. This equipment is playing a more prominent role in factory and plant automation as Ethernet devices proliferate, yet there is only a slight overlap between the suppliers of industrial Ethernet switches and the major automation suppliers. Furthermore, these hardened Ethernet switches are also crossing over from manufacturing into non-manufacturing applications such as intelligent transportation, defense, and security.
Strategic Issues
The report is specifically prepared to provide strategic information to suppliers in the industrial Ethernet switching business. The report discusses both the growth prospects for the market and the diverse market strategies of the leading companies in this emerging market. Key areas researched in this report include:
- Present market size and future growth for industrial Ethernet switches
- Impact of “non-standard” industrial Ethernet practices regarding connectors, Physical Layer, industrial protocols, etc.
- The basis for sustainable supplier differentiation in this market
- Key elements for success in the industrial Ethernet switch market
- Market and business strategies most successful for leading suppliers