Fibre Channel Hub & Switch Market To Reach $1 Billion Mark in 2001; QLogic Second Largest Supplier of Fabric Switches
5/17/2001 8:16:00 AM
ALISO VIEJO, Calif., May 17, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
IDC Report Discloses Fabric and Director Switches Are Fastest Growing
Segments of Market
QLogic Corp. (QLGC) , the only end-to-end storage area network (SAN) infrastructure provider, today announced that IDC has recognized QLogic as the factory revenue loop switch market share leader in 2000. IDC expects QLogic to hold this lead in 2001. In its forthcoming report entitled, "2001 Worldwide Fibre Channel Hub & Switch Market Forecast and Analysis, 1998-2004," IDC also ranks QLogic as the second largest factory revenue supplier of Fibre Channel fabric switches in calendar year 2000 and 2001. QLogic is also a key supplier of ASICs and software for INRANGE Technologies' director products. Fabric and director class switches are the two fastest growing segments of the Fibre Channel switch market according to IDC. IDC forecasts Fabric switch ports to grow more than 69 percent in CAGR from 2000 to 2004 and director-class switch ports are predicted to grow in CAGR 112 percent over the same period.
This IDC report shows that the overall Fibre Channel switch market continues to demonstrate healthy growth with factory revenues forecasted to reach more than $1 billion in 2001. This is a significant leap compared to the $690 million for the year 2000.
QLogic is at the forefront of suppliers offering Fibre Channel switches based on the next-generation 2 Gigabit Fibre Channel technology, with product samples shipping to OEMs in December, 2000. QLogic's SANbox2(TM) Fabric switches round out the industry's only complete 2 Gigabit end-to-end SAN infrastructure, which includes 2 Gigabit chips for target storage devices and 2 Gigabit chips and SANblade HBAs for host systems. IDC expects all switches to ship with 2 Gigabit capability by mid 2002.
"This rapidly growing market has been eagerly awaiting the final piece of the puzzle to complete the next milestone in the evolution of SAN performance -- 2 Gigabit switches," said Dave Hubbard, vice president and general manager of QLogic's Switch Products Group. "Being first to market gives QLogic an obvious advantage with early adopters who want to take SANs to the next level of performance. We've also designed the SANbox2 to protect customer investments by making it fully interoperable with their installed loop base, with our SANbox 1Gb products, and with other vendors' switch solutions."
"With many OEMs still looking for partners to help with their transition from 1 Gigabit to 2-Gigabit technology, time-to-market will be a key factor for vendors looking to grow relative market share in this space. Having 2-Gigabit products to offer these OEMs positions QLogic well for future incremental growth." said Eric Sheppard, a Research Analyst with IDC.
In addition to delivering an industry-leading line of edge switches, QLogic is a partner in the development of leading director-class switch products as a result of its partnership with INRANGE Technologies. Directors are large, highly sophisticated, highly reliable switches installed at the heart of mission-critical data centers. |
