This IDC study provides a five-year forecast (2012–2016) for the worldwide enterprise network infrastructure market. Data for 2012–2016 is forecast; data for 2007–2011 is actual. This study includes Ethernet switch, router, WLAN, IP telephony, Layer 4–7 switch, WAN application delivery, Fibre Channel switch, InfiniBand switch, and enterprise videoconferencing and telepresence technologies, and it segments the market by customer type as well as geography: North America, EMEA, Asia/Pacific, and Latin America.

"The next generation of IT is being defined by a staggering number of mobile devices, explosion of video traffic, expanding business relevance of the network, and cloud-based application virtualization and service delivery requirements. These demands will propel the enterprise network market to reach $55.5 billion in 2016." — Rohit Mehra, director, Enterprise Communications Infrastructure