In Q1, Ciena, Cisco and Infinera were the top three vendors in the data center interconnect market, according to a report by Dell'Oro Group. Combined, those three vendors accounted for more than 70% of the market share in the first quarter, which was driven by increased demand for data center connectivity.
Cisco and Infinera each gained six to seven percentage points of the data center interconnection (DCI) market share in the recent first quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago due to their customers buying more 600 Gbps-capable disaggregated WDM systems, according to Dell'Oro Group.
Overall, sales of optical transport gear that's used for DCI increased 13% year-over-year in the first quarter. Spending on optical equipment for DCI was highest for metro spans in Q1, outstripping the growth for DCI that's used in long haul spans.
"Data center interconnect continued to be an important application for optical transport equipment, especially in times like this," said Jimmy Yu, vice president at Dell'Oro Group, in a statement. "While macroeconomic conditions will suffer this year due to the actions taken to contain the spread of COVID-19, we anticipate demand for data center connectivity will continue to rise as people rely more on cloud-based services."
RELATED: 400G will drive port shipments on DWDM systems - Dell'Oro Group
Dell'Oro Group also noted that most of the companies that are buying DCI gear use the highest available wavelength speeds, which has led to sharp demand for 400 Gbps wavelengths.