JANUARY 19--Growth in the world market for industrial networking is being driven by a substantial increase in the use of Ethernet-based technologies, according to a new report from IMS Research (Wellingborough, UK; www.imsresearch.com), a specialist supplier of market research and consultancy services on global electronics markets. The report predicts average annual growth of 13% over the next five years in terms of nodes installed. Over the same period, Ethernet-based protocols are forecast to grow at a substantially higher annual rate of 20.3%.
Senior market analyst John Morse comments, "Of the three market regions covered in the report, Asia Pacific is expected to experience even higher growth in the use of Ethernet. However, Ethernet does not meet the requirements of all users, and the more traditional fieldbus technologies will continue to prosper. Four product groups were analyzed in detail for the report: PLCs, operator terminals, variable speed drives, and motion controllers. Of these, variable speed drives are predicted to experience the highest growth of use within industrial networks."
