Automotive Ethernet Technologies and IIoT Applications Augment Growth Opportunities
The Hyperscale data center is experiencing an upswing. Operators of these infrastructure require high speed Ethernet solutions that can process large amounts of high speed data and will be largely responsible for the mass adoption of 200GbE and 400GbE products. While expensive at first, the adoption of 200Gb and 400GbE en masse would lead to their commoditization, making it possible for their adoption amongst other end-users which are price conscious. The release of the 25GbE and 50GbE into the market has helped operators to scale their infrastructure for 5G network cost effectively. While the adoption of high speed Ethernet continues full steam amongst service providers and NEMs who build data centers and telecom infrastructures, Ethernet technology is gaining traction in other verticals, more specifically in the Automotive and IIoT space. Vendors who provide Ethernet testing solutions should take cognisance of this and must expand into those avenues of growth as well.
The incorporation of Ethernet into Automotive is a trend that can disrupt the Automotive Industry, as it would facilitate the industry to transition to a more autonomous environment. In addition, the move to smart factories would also push the demand for Ethernet technologies across the factory floor. The adoption of faster speeds is a continuous trend which is driven mostly by hyper scale data center operators; currently there is a significant uptake of 200GbE and 400GbE amongst hyper scale data centers, while standards for 800GbE and 1.6TbE are being developed.
According to the Cisco Annual Internet Report (2018-2023), there were 2.4 networked devices per capita in 2018; by 2023, that number is expected to increase to 3.6 devices per capita. The sheer amount of data generated by connected devices would require faster and sophisticated Ethernet solutions. The deployment of 5G services as per specifications stipulated by Release 16 and 17 would mean a substantial deployment of virtualization, this will require Ethernet solutions with carrier aggregation capabilities and which can be deployed across virtual environments.
