Active Optical Cables Market Forecasts: 2022-2031

CIR has been providing coverage of the Active Optical Cables market for about 15 years.  Unlike other recent reports on this topic this one is rooted in accurate information on the evolution of the data center and a realistic view on where video AOCs can find a market. Here are some of the key features of this new report:

      • In this Active Optical Cables Market report, we are adding coverage of Direct Attach Cable (DACs) as a measure of what potential there still is for copper in the data center.
      • AOCs are sometimes considered merely commodity products. There have always been some specialist segments of the AOC market (notably ruggedized AOCs) but in the past year or so AOC vendors have found new ways to distinguish their products in the marketplace.  These revolve around 400/800G AOCs, which require special design considerations. 
      • This report examines how re-shoring from China will impact the AOC market going forward. US and European data centers have relied heavily on AOCs manufactured in China for many years.  Originally, Chinese AOCs only supported data rates up to 100G, but in the past two-to-three years China has become a primary source of 400/800G AOCs.  How will supply chain for high-speed AOCs evolve in a post-globalized world?
      • Throughout the Active Optical Cables market report we discuss the strategies of leading providers of AOCs and related products in data and video connectivity markets over the next decade. Two issues in particular are covered.  We discuss the strategies that AOC vendors plan for when new kinds of optoelectronics (notably co-packed optics – CPO) will find their way into data centers.  We also examine how the players in the AOC space are rethinking their branding and moving slowly away from the old brands that have dominated the data connectivity

      The centerpiece of this report is the ten-year forecast of video and data AOCs/DACs.  This forecast is provided to the purchaser of this report in a spreadsheet so that it can be easily read and manipulated.  For the data center AOCs, we include breakouts by speed, reach, type of media, connector MSA, type of data center, and video application.  Data center types considered separately in this report comprise, hyperscale, enterprise, edge and telephone center.

       

Chapter One: Introduction and Background to Report
1.1 AOC, DACS AND BEYOND: The Varieties of Optical Interconnects
1.1.1 Active Optical Cables: Core Value Propositions and Marketing Strategies
1.1.2 AOC Product Spinoff #1: Ruggedized AOCs
1.1.3 AOC Product Spinoff #2: Video AOCs
1.1.4 DACs: The Persistence of Copper
1.2 Methodology of This Report
1.2.1 Forecasting
1.3 Plan of This Report

Chapter Two: AOCs in the Data Center
2.1 Markets for AOCs In the Data Center
2.1.1 Growth of Data Centers
2.2 AOCS in the Hyperscale Data Center
2.2.1 HPC and AOCs in the Hyperscale Data Center
2.2.2 Initial Thoughts on 400G AOCs and Above
2.3 AOCS In the Enterprise Data Centers
2.3.1 Transition to 100G AOCs in the Data Center
2.4 Telecom Data Centers
2.4.1 Switching Centers
2.4.2 Potential for Use in Cable TV Headends
2.5 Edge Data Centers
2.6 InfiniBand AOCS in the Data Center
2.7 AOCS In the Ethernet Environment
2.8 Key Points from this Chapter

Chapter Three: AOCs, DACs and Beyond: Products and Supply Chains
3.1 A Market Segmentation of the Interconnect Market for Today
3.2 The Role of DACS
3.2.1 Current and Future Uses for DACs
3.2.2 The Advantages of DACs
3.2.3 Passive vs. Active DACs
3.2.4 A Note on Breakout DACs
3.3 Beyond DACS: AOC Product Philosophy
3.3.1 AOCs Have Downsides, Too
3.4 Ruggedized Active Optical Cables
3.4.1 Applications for Ruggedized Active Optical Cables
3.5 The Role of Connectorized Cable and Structured Cabling
3.6 AOCS In the Age Of CPO: Can AOCS Survive Pluggables?
3.7 The AOC Supply Chain and Its Likely Changes
3.7.1 The China Syndrome: The Future of China in the AOC Sector
3.7.2 Chinese AOC Firms
3.8 Changing Role of The OEMS In Distribution of AOCS
3.8.1 Cisco and Intel: Examples of Branded AOCs
3.9 “Third-Party” Suppliers
3.9.1 Pricing Differentials at Third-Party Suppliers
3.9.2 How these Price Differentials are Achieved
3.10 Retailers, Wholesalers and Online Stores for AOCs
3.11 A Note on Regional AOC Markets
3.11.1 non-China APAC
3.11.2 Europe
3.11.3 Middle East and Africa
3.11.4 AOC Markets in Israel
3.12 Key Points from this Chapter

Chapter Four: Video/Consumer AOCs
4.1. Definition and Capabilities of Video/Consumer AOCS
4.2 Video AOC Supply Chain
4.3 AOCS and Digital Signage
4.3.1 Digital Signage Networks and the Future Role of AOCs
4.4 Video AOCS In Bars, Restaurants and Retail
4.5 AOCS For the Home
4.6 Professional Video
4.6.1 Internal Personal Computer Connections Using AOCs
4.7 Key Points from this Chapter

Chapter Five: Forecast Methodology
5.1 Forecasting Philosophy
5.2 Forecasting Assumptions
5.2.1 MSAs and Protocols
5.2.2 Speeds and Reach
5.2.3 Type of Media
5.2.4 Video Applications Assumptions

List of Exhibits
Exhibit 1-1: Products Covered by this Report
Exhibit 3-1: Data Center Connectivity Products by Type
Exhibit 3-2: Market Advantages of AOCs
Exhibit 4-1: Key Video Connector Types Used in Video AOCs
Exhibit 4-2: Reasons for Using AOCs in Selected Video Markets
Exhibit 4-3: Professional Video Applications for AOCs

Appendix A Forecast Database/Spreadsheets

A.1 Hyperscale Data Center: AOC and DAC Market Forecasts
A.2 Enterprise Data Center: AOC and DAC Market Forecasts
A.3 Edge Data Center: AOC and DAC Market Forecasts
A.4 Telephone Company Data Center: AOC and DAC Market Forecasts
A.5 Video AOC Markets by Application
A.6 Summary of AOC/DAC Markets

About the Author
Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in This Report

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