Predictions 2021– Data Center Infrastructure
2020 has been a tumultuous year in which the industry has to reevaluate its data center deployment strategy. While COVID-19 and the ensuing recession did weigh down on projected 2020 data center capex growth to just 2%, the slowdown in spending was not as much as originally feared. Some Cloud service providers have continued to expand their infrastructure to support increased internet usage and work-from-home dynamics, while a great deal of uncertainty persists in other industry sectors. Our 2021 outlook is more optimistic, with a data center capex projection of 10%. We identify the following key trends that could shape the dynamics of the data center capex in 2021.
Predictions 2021 – Microwave Transmission Market
we predict that the Microwave Transmission market will return to growth in 2021 (one year later than we had originally predicted). We believe 5G and preparation for 5G mobile radio installations will create a growing demand for Microwave equipment in 2021 and project the market to grow at a low single digit percentage rate. Furthermore, we think this is just the beginning of a multi-year growth cycle.
China’s Role in the Semiconductor Market Expanding
The quickening pace of technological innovation across a growing number of industries will drive continued growth in the semiconductor industry. In the communications and consumer electronics verticals, the global deployment of 5G mobile and fiber-based broadband networks along with the phones and other devices used to access those networks and services, will be significant drivers of new semiconductor designs. Additionally, the proliferation of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning throughout service provider, cloud hyperscaler, enterprise, and industrial networks, will also drive demand for chips with embedded processing capabilities.
Open RAN Results Mixed in 3Q20
Open and Virtual RAN continues to gain momentum, bolstered by Ericsson now formalizing its support with its Cloud-RAN announcement. The uptake remains mixed. In this blog we will discuss three key takeaways for the 3Q20 quarter including 1) The primary objective of Open RAN is to address market concentration and vendor lock-in, 2) Open RAN revenues are trending ahead of schedule, and 3) Not all Open RAN is disruptive
Key Takeaways—Telecommunication Equipment Market 1Q20 to 3Q20
We just wrapped up the 3Q20 reporting period for all the Telecommunications Infrastructure programs covered at Dell’Oro Group. Preliminary estimates suggest the overall telecom equipment market – Broadband Access, Microwave & Optical Transport, Mobile Core & Radio Access Network, SP Router & Carrier Ethernet Switch (CES) – advanced 9% Year-Over-Year (Y/Y) during 3Q20 and 5% Y/Y for the 1Q20-3Q20 period.
Huawei MBBF 2020 RAN Takeaways
Huawei recently held its annual MBBF Forum. Even though we were not able to attend in person, it was an interesting event. Below we will add some color to four radio access network (RAN) related takeaways including 1) Massive MIMO is a massive success, 2) There is more room left in the sub 6 GHz tank, 3) Site simplification will play an increasingly important role, 4) The outlook for vertical 5G activity is improving.
5G Is Propelling RAN to Another Strong Quarter
We just published the 3Q20 RAN report. Preliminary readings indicate that the positive momentum that has characterized the radio access network (RAN) market since the upswing began in the second half of 2018 extended into
Marvell’s Acquisition of Inphi Is Latest Chip Sector Consolidation—More Is Yet to Come
Last week, Marvell announced another giant deal with the acquisition of Inphi. The price tag was about one-third of Marvell’s market value. We had an opportunity to talk with members of Marvell’s executive team to garner insights on the acquisition, which we share in this blog.
Impact of AI on Data Center Infrastructure
The 3rd AI Hardware Summit took place virtually earlier this month and it was exciting to see how quickly the ecosystem has evolved and to learn of the challenges the industry has to solve in scaling artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure . I would like to share highlights of the Summit, along with other notable observations from the industry in the area of accelerated computing.
Mid-Year 5G 2020 Progress
Going into 2020 we outlined ten 5G predictions. Since we now have data for 1H20 and will soon start collecting data for 3Q20, the timing is right for a quick status check on the 5G predictions we outlined going into 2020.
