Networking Hardware Market Becoming More Fragmented

2019 report says hundreds of network hardware vendors compete for space
on MSP-managed networks

WATERLOO, ON / October 1, 2019 — The network hardware market is becoming increasingly fragmented as hundreds of equipment vendors vie for market share, says a new report from Auvik Networks.

The 2019 Network Vendor Diversity report reveals increasing competition in the network access point, switch, router, and firewall hardware markets. Three hundred and fifty network device vendors are accounted for—up from 264 in 2018—and upwards of 50 vendors compete in each device category.

  • The most commonly deployed network device on client sites is access points, accounting for 44.2% of devices on networks of all sizes.
  • The most competitive network device category is switches, with 124 vendors. The top nine category vendors account for 93.6% of switches.
  • The most commonly deployed network vendor on MSP-managed networks is Cisco (including Cisco-owned Meraki), who makes up 32.2% of devices.
  • The top nine most commonly deployed vendors across all device categories—Cisco, HP, Meraki, Ubiquiti, Ruckus, Aruba, SonicWall, Dell, NETGEAR, and Fortinet—claim around 80% of devices across all networks.

The report also highlights the influence of a number of evolving industry trends on the data.

  • Growing business demand for wireless connectivity appears to be driving increased numbers of access points on MSP-managed networks.
  • SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network) technology is growing in popularity and rendering traditional branch routers obsolete.
  • Stagnant switch technology has leveled the playing field for vendors, which increases the category’s fragmentation.

“The fragmentation of the network hardware market presents a unique challenge for MSPs,” says Alex Hoff, Chief Product Officer at Auvik Networks. “For an MSP, more vendors under management means more configurations and interfaces to learn and support, which can put a drag on their team’s efficiency and profitability.”

The report, titled Managing Network Vendor Diversity: The MSP Challenge Continues, is based on data from over 240,000 managed network devices deployed across nearly 35,000 networks under the care and management of more than 2,000 IT managed service providers (MSPs). To download a copy of the free report, visit www.auvik.com/vendordiversity21.

About Auvik Networks
Auvik makes network management easier. By automating and simplifying network management, our cloud-based software improves the efficiency and capacity of IT teams and helps protect their business from network risk. Auvik is one of the fastest growing North American technology companies, and is winner of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50, Deloitte Fast 500, and was recognized as the #1 ranked Canadian company in the FT Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies list. Visit www.auvik.com or follow @AuvikNetworks on Twitter. Auvik is a registered trademark of Auvik Networks Inc.