More than 40 Percent CAGR in New AI Pull-Through Opportunities in Front-End Networks, Opening Doors for New and Existing Vendors
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — According to a recently published report by Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for information about the telecommunications, networks, and data center industries, the explosive scale in AI back-end networks is driving the need for additional capacity in data center switch front-end networks for data ingest. We estimate that AI-driven pull-through opportunities will create a net new market expansion in front-end networks that will grow at a CAGR of over 40 percent from 2024 to 2029, presenting significant opportunities for both existing players and new entrants.
“Over the past few years, data center switch sales in front-end networks for general purpose non-accelerated servers have been largely driven by brownfield deployments and upgrades of the installed base, as capacity expansion slowed significantly,” said Sameh Boujelbene, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group. “AI back-end deployments are, however, breathing new life into this market. What’s often overlooked is that within front-end networks, there’s now a growing need for a new segment of connectivity—linking accelerated servers not to each other, but to the front-end network for data ingest. This additional capacity will require high-speed connectivity and command a price premium,” added Boujelbene.
Additional highlights from the Ethernet Switch—Data Center 5-Year July 2025 Forecast Report:
- Accton, Arista, Celestica, Cisco, Juniper, Huawei, NVIDIA, and others—emerge as the primary beneficiaries of this growth
- Despite some delays, nearly 90 million 800 Gbps and 1600 Gbps switch ports will be deployed in front-end networks over the next five years, leveraging 51.2 Tbps and 102.4 Tbps chips that will be available on the market. Shipments in back-end networks are expected to exceed that by more than three times.
The Dell’Oro Group Ethernet Switch – Data Center 5-Year Forecast Report provides a comprehensive overview of market trends and includes tables covering manufacturers’ revenue, port shipments, and average selling price forecasts for various technologies: Modular and Fixed by Port Speed; Fixed Managed and Unmanaged by Port Speed; SONiC by customer segments; and Co-Packaged Optics by Port Speed. We forecast the following port speeds: 1/10/25/40/50/100/200/400/800/1600 Gbps, and SerDes speed. To purchase this report, please contact us by email at [email protected].
Dell’Oro Group is a market research firm that specializes in strategic competitive analysis in the telecommunications, security, networks, and data center markets. Our firm provides in-depth quantitative data and qualitative analysis to facilitate critical, fact-based business decisions. For more information, contact Dell’Oro Group at +1.650.622.9400 or visit www.delloro.com.
SOURCE Dell’Oro Group
