India networking market slowed down in Q2 2020

India’s networking market which includes Ethernet Switch, Routers, and WLAN segments witnessed a 9.6% year-over-year (YoY) decline in Q2 2020 (April – June 2020). IDC expects Q3 (July-September 2020) to also follow the same trendline due to the lack of business activity in Q2 translating into declined shipments.

Decline in the switch market was mainly due to a reduction in investments for campus infrastructure. Business was characterized by regular refreshes from verticals like banking, telecommunications, and professional services. Router market saw a decline of 5.5% YoY; however, the quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) decline was only 1.2%. The spending from telecom vendors to support remote working needs majorly contributed to the business in this segment.

While Wi-Fi 6 has started to gain significant traction in India, the overall WLAN market declined by 4.6%. Though the enterprise WLAN market saw a significant decline, the decline was offset by the growth of consumer gateway routers. The sudden demand in consumer gateway routers could be attributed to employees working from home and students taking online classes during the lockdown.

India Ethernet Switch Market Q2 2020
According to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Ethernet Switch Tracker, the Q2 2020 Ethernet Switch market in India stood at USD 120.8 million (by vendor revenue) registering a YoY decline of 13.8%. A sudden drop in campus switch requirements reduced spending across major industry verticals. Supply chain issues were also aggravated due to the complete lockdown that happened during most part of the second quarter. Key industry verticals that contributed to the Q2 switch market business were professional services, telecom, and banking. Except for a few budgeted government deals, most were deferred to later part of the year. Industries like manufacturing and education also saw a significant decline in switching investments. CT Bureau