Switches are networking hardware that are responsible for connecting devices in a computer network. Using packet switching, they’re able to receive and forward data from source to destination.
Network switches allow for fast and efficient transferring and sharing of data, enabling seamless communication between devices in the same network.
See below to learn all about the global enterprise switch market:
The market for enterprise switches
The enterprise switch market was valued at $2.94 billion in 2020. Projected to maintain a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1%, it’s estimated to reach $4.99 billion by 2028.
Several countries are driving growth in the market:
- The U.S. and Latin American markets each grew by 2.5% year over year
- China’s market witnessed a 19.8% growth in value
- Japan’s market grew by 23.5%
- Western Europe’s market rose by 16.7%
By industry vertical, several sectors are driving demand:
- Manufacturing
- Electric and power
- Aerospace and defense
- Automotive and transportation
- Oil and gas
Enterprise switch features
Enterprise networking switches come in multiple types that vary in the features they offer. Each type has its uses in networking, depending on the desired results.
Some network switches types include:
- Modular switches
- Fixed switched
- Unmanaged switches
- Managed switches
- Keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) switches
- Smart managed switches
- Data center switches
The features that vary depending on the type of network switch include:
- Speed
- Software-defined networking (SDN) architecture
- Quality of service (QoS) support
- Stackability
- Single point of management
Enterprise switch benefits
Switches are more than networking hardware. Implemented properly, they have numerous benefits to the enterprise’s network capabilities.
- Reduced burden on individual hosts
- Increased network bandwidth
- Improved security with data isolation
- Reduced frame collisions
- Increased data transfer capacity
“To cope with a large amount of traffic considering the minimal risk of failure, two or more aggregation or core layer switches can be deployed in each layer, so that a failure of one switch will not disrupt the other,” says a network architect at FS Community.
“When there is a complex network with large number of servers to manage on the enterprise, network virtualization is needed to optimize the speed and reliability of the network.”
Enterprise switch use cases
Networking switches are essential to having a functional enterprise-level network. As the basic building blocks, companies of various industries implement them to create a network that suits their needs.
See here how a pair of companies are using switches for large-scale networking.
BBVA
BBVA is one of the world’s largest financial institutions based in Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1857, it operates in more than 25 countries, with over 120,000 employees serving 80 million customers.
Each BBVA site has a dedicated, local IT team that works independently of other branches, leading to some variable performance and security. Additionally, BBVA needed a way to intercept malware entering the network through endpoints and minimize the damages.
Deciding to standardize its networking infrastructure company-wide, BBVA partnered with Cisco’s customer experience (CX) team to develop a new architecture based on Cisco SDN.
“We were able to minimize any disruption by preconfiguring our replacement switches through DNA Center and then simply swapping all the users over to it,” says Luis Plata, manager, network services, BBVA Colombia.
“That way we maintained security interoperability between the new switches with the old, and the users didn’t feel any difference.”
As a result, BBVA was able to eliminate the effort of manual configuration network changes and continuously monitor all network access points.
SmartGames Technologies
SmartGames Technologies provides a range of gaming, lottery, and betting technologies and equipment. Founded in 2002 in the U.K., they’re dedicated to creating an entertaining experience for customers.
SmartGames needed to provide a high-performance platform that keeps up with the competition in the market. The company selected NVIDIA Cumulus NetQ built on Linux as well as Whitebox switches from Dell Technologies and Broadcom Trident chips. The switches played a key part in the monitored network.
“With Cumulus NetQ, we can run small check commands and see what really is going on in our network. The benefits to us are early alerting and validating the entire state of the fabric,” says Bernd Malmqvist, tech lead systems operations, SmartGames Technologies.
“Monitoring is one thing, but with NetQ, the knowledge is instant. NetQ is really unique; it’s a tool that tells us exactly what is wrong in our environment and the insight to know where an issue is stemming from.”
In addition to the flexibility their new network infrastructure gives, SmartGames also achieved a 50% reduction in networking costs.
Enterprise switch providers
Some of the leading providers of network switches for enterprises include:
- Cisco
- Juniper Networks
- Nokia
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
- Arista Networks
- VMware
- Extreme Networks
- MikroTik
- Dell Technologies
- Huawei
