The Merchant Computer Boards for Embedded/Real Time Applications Market Intelligence Program: Volume V: Global Embedded Merchant Board Market Overview and Outlook
Report
VDC is pleased to present our 13th edition program covering the embedded hardware market. This volume provides an overview examination of the historical, current, and future markets for Merchant Embedded Computer Boards over the period 2003-2008.
VDC is pleased to present our 13th edition program covering the embedded hardware market. This volume provides an overview examination of the historical, current, and future markets for Merchant Embedded Computer Boards over the period 2003-2008. Included are current market sizes and top-level forecasts through 2008, as well as granular forecasts for 2006. Trends are identified, vertical markets examined, and strategies recommended for the industry in general. Data for this volume was excerpted from the other volumes of the 2004/2005 program.
Boards Analyzed
Slot Single Board Computers;
Embedded CPU Blades;
Slot Expansion Cards (top-level forecasts only);
Embedded Motherboards;
PC/104 Family Modules;
Mezzanine Cards and Non-Intelligent Carriers; and
Computers-on-Modules (COMs) and COM Carriers.
Switch Fabrics and High-Speed Interconnects, as well as CPU and OS use, are also discussed.
Vertical Markets Analyzed
Communications (Edge/Core)
Industrial Control & Automation
Instrumentation
Medical
Military/Aerospace/Defense
Transportation
Geographic Regions Analyzed
Americas
EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa)
Asia-Pacific
Report Highlights
The overall global market for merchant embedded boards of all types examined was US$ 3,667 million in 2004, and is projected to grow to US$ 4,636 million in 2008.
Slot Single Board Computers, including CompactPCI Blades but excluding ATCA, comprised the largest portion of the Merchant Embedded Computer Board market in 2004. This share is expected to decline in 2008. However, this decline in share will be largely offset by overall market growth.
A similar decline in share is projected for Slot Expansion Cards, which commanded the second largest portion of the 2004 market. However, overall market growth will allow a positive CAGR for these boards over the 2004-2008 period.
The highest growth rates are projected for the emerging ATCA CPU Blade and COM/COM Carrier segments. However, these represented only small shares of year 2004 shipments.
Among Slot Single Board Computers, PCI-ISA hybrid architectures typified by PICMG 1.0 are projected to show the highest growth rate. These represented 17.5% of year 2004 SBC dollar volume shipments. PCI SBCs are expected to show the second highest growth rate, followed by CompactPCI. Shipments of both VME and ISA SBCs are expected to decline.
ATX still commanded the largest share of dollar volume shipments of Embedded Motherboards in 2004. However, shipments of these are expected to decline through 2008. In the latter year, VDC projects that shipments of ATX boards will comprise slightly more than one-quarter of the total for Embedded Motherboards, due to very clear trends among users to prefer smaller form factors.
Motherboards were first segmented into two form factor classes: "Desktop" class, including ATX and derivatives thereof, and "Embedded" class, including 3.5", 5.25", EBX, EPIC, etc. Actual dollar volume shipments of "Desktop" class motherboards are expected to increase by 19.4% while those of "Embedded" class boards increase by 27.7% over the 2004-2008 period.
Dollar volume shipments of PC/104 family modules, including PC/104, PC/104-Plus and PCI-104, are expected to show healthy growth over the forecast period. The most rapid growth is expected for the PCI-104 group, including both CPU and Expansion modules.
Shipments of Mezzanine/Daughter Cards and Non-Intelligent Carriers are expected to show healthy growth, from US$ 375.4 million in 2004 to US$ 585.7 million in 2008. Within this space, the PMC architecture commanded the largest share in 2004. This share is projected to decline in 2008. However, overall market growth will more than compensate for the decline in share.
Shipments of the emerging AMC mezzanine architecture are expected to increase from less than 1% in 2004 to just under 10% of the mezzanine card/carrier market in 2008. Much of this growth will be driven by MicroTCA.
The emerging market for COMs and COM carriers is currently dominated by ETX form factor modules, followed by proprietary form factor modules. These will still rank as "1" and "2" in 2008 but, in that year, shipments of COM Express modules are expected to command a 16% share of the total for COMs and Carriers. In 2004, the share for COM Express was only 3%.
Communications ("edge" and "core" combined) represented the largest vertical market for merchant computer boards in 2004, consuming almost one-quarter of total dollar volume shipments. This share is expected to increase slightly in 2006. Military/Aerospace/Defense consumed the next largest share in 2004, but this share is expected to decline somewhat in 2006.
Within the Communications space, Slot SBCs and Embedded CPU Blades (including ATCA) accounted for more than three-quarters of shipments in 2004. Most of these shipments were CompactPCI. In 2006, the share commanded by SBCs and Blades will have declined slightly. Increased shipments of mezzanine cards and carriers will more than absorb this change in share.
Similarly, Slot SBCs and Embedded CPU Blades comprised more than half of the shipments to Military/Aerospace/Defense in 2004, with most of these being VME. The SBC/Blade share is projected to decline in 2006. Again, this decrease in share will be primarily due to increased shipments of mezzanine cards and carriers.
VDC is pleased to present our 13th edition program covering the embedded hardware market. This volume provides an overview examination of the historical, current, and future markets for Merchant Embedded Computer Boards over the period 2003-2008. 