According to a recent report by Dell'Oro Group, the Ethernet switch market is forecast to decline almost 10 % in 2009, the sharpest since 2001, which will likely result from the slowing or contracting of emerging markets, wiring closet upgrades, and data center consolidation.
The report shows that macroeconomic conditions will lead to a more modest year-on-year decline in 10/100 Mbps switches compared to the prior forecast, and a decrease in the adoption of 1000 Mbps.
Also, the report indicates that significant new product introductions should help propel 10 Gigabit Ethernet growth as those products begin to ramp in 2009.