Industrial Ethernet Switches

The Industrial Ethernet Switches Market Research Study delivers current market analysis plus a five year market and technology forecast. The study is available in multiple editions including worldwide, all regions, and most major countries.

Industrial Ethernet Switch Market Shows IT/OT Convergence with Push to Integrate Cybersecurity and Centralize Management

​The pursuit of digital transformation strategies continues to drive an almost insatiable need to derive value from the data generated by assets, processes, and numerous other sources. Industrial Ethernet switches remain the wireline vehicle of choice for accessing and delivering this data from both new and legacy installations. Adoption of SPE and APL will ultimately drive this access further down to the field level and contribute to industrial Ethernet’s ongoing descent in the architecture, while TSN standardization promises to bring real-time determinism to standard Ethernet. At the same time, cybersecurity is now top of mind for most enterprises as operational networks increasingly become targets for cyberattacks. Increased emphasis on security has hastened the descent of IT technologies to the OT environment in terms of both the security mechanisms employed as well as reliance on centralized management.

Industrial Ethernet Switches Strategic Issues and Market Trends

In addition to providing a five-year market forecast, the Industrial Ethernet Switches Market Research provides detailed quantitative current market data and addresses key strategic issues as follows.

Leverage the Trend Toward IT/OT Convergence at the Switch Level By Taking Advantage of Centralized Management and Security Offerings

Both infrastructure and industrial automation customers can take advantage of the trend toward IT/OT convergence by leveraging the descent of IT-oriented centralized management and security approaches to effectively monitor, control, manage, and safeguard installations. While ARC does not anticipate the near-term descent of full SDN capabilities to the IES level, centralized management gives both IT and OT greater visibility into networking operations.

On the security front, end users should leverage integration of IT concepts such as Zero Trust for pre and post connect, Defense in Depth, and IEC 62443 and related certifications. End users must recognize that some of this integration is likely to be offered more in thick edge devices, such as gateways, routers, firewalls, and IPCs, that reside above the switch layer itself.

Include Multiple Security Certifications in Your Selection Criteria

Customer approaches to cybersecurity strategy development typically rely on a combination of standard and proprietary mechanisms. IEC 62443 is gaining traction, particularly as its mandated use expands beyond critical infrastructure and into manufacturing operations. Some customers combine procedural and control approaches, such as NIST CSF with IEC 62443.

Take a Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Switch Selection, One That Involves Not Only OT Personnel But Also IT, Line-of-Business, and Security Organizations.

Given the importance of network infrastructure as the data backbone of digitally transformed architectures, it is important to include all stakeholders in the purchase decision making process. OT personnel bring the application, performance, and integration requirements, while IT and CISO personnel can contribute to adhering to centralized policies, particularly for security. Line of Business (LoB) personnel typically control the budget and are responsible for operations.