​Storage, networking markets see mixed demand in Q1

Enterprise storage systems sales were flat, and Ethernet switch revenue grew in the first quarter as data center demand remains mixed, according to IDC figures.

On the storage front, enterprise storage system revenue was down 0.5 percent in the first quarter to hit $9.2 billion, according to IDC. Total capacity shipments were up 41.4 percent to 50.1 exabytes. Revenue growth for original design manufacturers that sell directly to hyper scale data centers was 78.2 percent. Simply put, hyper scale data center sales are capturing all of the storage growth.

Dell remained No. 1 in the global enterprise storage systems market followed by HPE. HPE’s H3C joint venture in China boosted its global standing. For external systems, Dell held a commanding lead. Here are the standings.

The global Ethernet switch market posted some growth with first quarter revenue of $5.66 billion, up 3.3 percent from a year ago. Spending on enterprise and service provider routers fell 3.7 percent in the first quarter to $3.35 billion.

By region, Middle East and Africa showed the best growth, up 9.1 percent in the first quarter with Western Europe up 6 percent. All major regions showed growth.

Cisco ended the first quarter with Ethernet switching market share of 55.1 percent, down from 59 percent a year ago. Cisco’s combined service provider and enterprise router market share was 43.9 percent, down from 48.8 percent in the first quarter a year ago.

While Cisco lost market share, a bevy of rivals gained.

Huawei’s Ethernet switch market share was 6.3 percent in the first quarter, up from 3.9 percent a year ago. Huawei’s enterprise and server provider router market share was 19.8 percent in the first quarter, up from 16.3 percent a year. HPE’s Ethernet switch revenue was 6 percent in the first quarter, up from 5 percent in the fourth quarter.

Arista Networks was also a gainer with Ethernet switch market share of 5.1 percent in the first quarter, up from 3.9 percent a year ago. Juniper Networks also gained share with Ethernet switching market share of 4.3 percent, up from 3.2 percent a year ago. Juniper’s enterprise and service provider router market share was 15.6 percent, up from 14.5 percent a year ago.

Related stories: