Fourth-Generation ATCA Systems to Drive Fourfold Market Growth, Heavy Reading Finds

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Fourth-generation ATCA platforms, with 40Gbit/s Ethernet switching, high-performance multicore processors and enhanced cooling, are poised to enter production in 2011 – a development that will drive the ATCA market's fourfold growth over the next five years, to $4.4 billion worldwide, according to a major new report from Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com), the research division of Light Reading (www.lightreading.com).

ATCA, AMC & MicroTCA Market Update & Five-Year Forecast identifies and analyzes the full spectrum of vendors developing ATCA, AMC and MicroTCA components and systems. The report includes not only granular information on the components and systems themselves – of interest to system OEMs and service providers – but also insights into how the overall market is developing – of interest to a wide audience, including investors.

The report evaluates and analyzes the products and strategies of 13 systems integrators and 43 component suppliers. The report also includes a market forecast for ATCA products through 2015, with a breakdown of COTS market share, and presents information on the use of ATCA by 23 telecom equipment providers.

For a full list of systems integrators included in this report, please see: http://img.lightreading.com/heavyreading/pdf/hr20110328_integrators.pdf

For a full list of component suppliers included in this report, please see: http://img.lightreading.com/heavyreading/pdf/hr20110328_components.pdf

For a full list of equipment vendors included in this report, please see: http://img.lightreading.com/heavyreading/pdf/hr20110328_vendors.pdf

"All the leading telecom equipment providers now use ATCA, which is the only standardized platform specifically designed for large, high-availability systems," explains Simon Stanley, Analyst at Large with Heavy Reading and author of the report. "The ATCA market will be worth a total of $4.4 billion by 2015, representing a CAGR of 31 percent over that span. Third-generation ATCA systems are currently entering volume production, and the first fourth-generation systems with 40GE switching will enter production toward the end of 2011."

LTE deployment is a key driver for ATCA adoption, Stanley explains. "Most LTE trials and demonstrations use ATCA-based equipment. A number of Tier 1 telecom equipment providers are using ATCA-based platforms for LTE control and user plane functions. ATCA is also being used for 3G/4G integration: By using ATCA as a common platform for several generations of wireless technology, equipment vendors can offer flexible and integrated systems for 3G and LTE."

Key findings of ATCA, AMC & MicroTCA Market Update & Five-Year Forecast include the following:

All Tier 1 telecom equipment vendors are using ATCA, including Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson and NSN. Some have acquired companies or product lines already based on ATCA, and many have decided to use ATCA to leverage the significantly reduced cost of development and time to market for new systems. All are committed to using ATCA for some product lines.

40G systems are delivering a fourfold performance increase in just two years. The first third-generation ATCA systems with 10GE switch blades were introduced during 2009. Fourth-generation systems with 40GE switch blades are being introduced during 2011, delivering four times the switching performance.

ATCA market growth has been hampered by several factors. Overall revenue growth in the ATCA sector is significantly lower than our previous forecast, due to reduced capex by carriers during 2009-2010 and the introduction of new processor blades based on Intel's Nehalem architecture, which dramatically reduces the number of blades needed for a given application.

COTS market share will grow to almost 80 percent by 2015. As more companies use ATCA, it reduces the impact of companies such as Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei that design and manufacture ATCA components and systems in-house. Chinese and Taiwanese ATCA vendors are also increasing market share, removing the manufacturing cost advantage that is often quoted for using in-house designs.

ATCA, AMC & MicroTCA Market Update & Five-Year Forecast is essential reading for a wide range of industry participants, including the following:

• Telecom equipment manufacturers: How does your ATCA/MicroTCA deployment strategy match up to your competition? Which component and subsystem vendors are taking the lead in ATCA, AMC, and MicroTCA product availability? Which products are available, and which are still vaporware? Are your suppliers stepping up to meet your anticipated timetable for ATCA and related products?
• Component and subsystem manufacturers: Are you ahead of the curve in ATCA and MicroTCA deployment, or are you falling behind? Which product areas present the most attractive opportunities? How is demand for ATCA, AMC, and MicroTCA likely to develop in the systems market?
• Systems integrators: How do your partnership channels for ATCA, AMC, and MicroTCA deployment measure up? Are there other potential partners that are capable of delivering products that you need now to meet your clients' needs?
• Network operators: How will ATCA's continued development affect your supply-chain relationships? When can you expect to see meaningful cost reductions from the move to ATCA, and how big a cost benefit will you get? Which vendors will be in the best position to deliver the products you need to build your next-generation network?
• Investors: Which equipment makers are in the best position to capture market share in this important telecom industry sector? When will this sector begin to show meaningful and sustainable growth?

ATCA, AMC & MicroTCA Market Update & Five-Year Forecast costs $3,995 and is published in PDF format. The price includes an enterprise license covering all of the employees at the purchaser's company.

For more information, or to request a free executive summary, contact:

Dave Williams
Sales Director, Heavy Reading
858-485-8870
[email protected]

Press/analyst contact:

Jennifer Baker
Marketing Director, Light Reading Communications Network
617-871-1910
[email protected]

About Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com)

Heavy Reading is an independent market research organization offering quantitative analysis of telecom technology to carriers, service providers, and vendors. Our remit is to provide the comprehensive competitive analysis needed today for the deployment of profitable networks based on next-generation hardware and software. This information is compiled via exhaustive surveys of both vendors' products and service-provider decision makers.

About Light Reading Communications Network (www.lightreading.com)

Founded in 2000, the Light Reading Communications Network is the world's leading research-led integrated media company serving the global communications market. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for technological and financial analysis of the communications industry, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading's research arms, Heavy Reading and Pyramid Research, provide the most comprehensive communications research, market data, and technology analysis in close to 100 markets around the world. Light Reading produces nearly 20 targeted communications events including TelcoTV, and TelcoTV Asia, Ethernet Expo New York and Ethernet Europe, and The Tower Summit @ CTIA, as well as focused one-day events tailored for cable, mobile, and wireline executives in the US, Europe, India, and China. Light Reading was acquired by United Business Media in August 2005 and operates as a unit of TechWeb.

SOURCE Heavy Reading