Networking/communication device maker Accton Technology has begun to ship 400G switches, with their shipment ratio expected to reach 5-10% in 2022 and way over 10% in 2023, according to company chairperson Rebecca Lin.
Along with fast growing application of 5G, Wi-Fi6, IoT, AI as well as connectivity of home-use and consumer electronics and enterprises' digital transformation, demand for switches used in cloud-based data transfers is fast transitioning from 100G models to 400G ones, Lin said.
In particular, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and other big enterprises have large demand for switches of over 400G, Lin noted. Lin cited Dell'Oro Group as indicating 400G, 800G and1,600G switches will together take up about 50% of global shipment value for all switches in 2026. For data centers, 800G switches will become necessary next-generation equipment, Lin said, adding that Accton unveiled the first in-house-developed 800G switch in 2021.
While demand for 400G switches is strong, Accton's shipments are still impacted by short supply of main ICs and power management ICs, but the impact is lessening as lead time for such ICs is getting shorter, Lin added.
In order to meet increasing demand for switches from data centers, Accton has been making efforts to hike production efficiency and will expand production capacity through constructing office/factory mixed-use buildings in International AI Smart Park located in northern Taiwan, setting up a factory in northern Vietnam and assembly lines in India, Lin indicated.
Due to large-volume procurement of components to prepare for shipments to clients with large demand, Accton saw inventory of NT$14.544 billion (US$498 million) as of the end of first-quarter 2022, rising 44% on year.
Accton has reported consolidated revenues of NT$6.156 billion for May, increasing 9.42% sequentially and 25.35% on year, and those of NT$27.512 billion for January-May grew 21.01% on year.
