Here Are The 8 Best-Selling Networking Switch Brands In Q3 2016

The Networking Switches Market

Netgear and Cisco remained the dominant forces in networking switches sold through distributors during the third quarter of 2016, according to new data from The NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y. The research firm compiles data in its DistributorTrack sales database from leading distributors in the U.S. Global Technology Distribution Council.

The total number of switching units sold during the quarter was 602,004, down 4.2 percent year over year, with many of the top companies showing double-digit percentage declines including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, D-Link and Juniper Networks.

Here are the top eight leaders by brand who sold the most switching units from July to September in 2016.

8. Brocade Communications

Unit Share: 1.9 percent

A massive transition is currently underway at Brocade Communication as the networking vendor is being acquired by semiconductor maker Broadcom for $5.9 billion. Additionally, San Jose, Calif.-based Broadcom acquired Ruckus Wireless earlier this year for $1.2 billion, although Broadcom said it would divest Broadcom's networking business including Ruckus.

Looking at the Q3 numbers from NPD Group, Brocade captured 1.9 percent unit share, slightly down from 2 percent compared to one year ago. The vendor sold 11,542 units during the quarter, down from 12,770 year-over-year.

7. Juniper Networks

Unit Share: 2.1 percent

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Juniper Networks, which has already acquired two companies in 2016, took 2.1 percent unit share for the third quarter, down from 2.9 percent unit share last year. Juniper sold 12,471 units for the quarter through distribution, down from 17,936 units compared to the same quarter one year ago -- representing a 30 percent decline.

Juniper CEO Rami Rahim told CRN last month that the company is placing its M&A bets in the silicon photonic domain as well as shifting resources toward becoming a software-centric company.

6. TRENDnet

Unit Share: 3 percent

Coming in at No. 6 for switching units in the third quarter was TRENDnet. The Torrance, Calif.-based networking vendor has distribution partnerships with the likes of Synnex, Ingram Micro, D&H and Tech Data.

TRENDnet captured 3 percent unit share for the quarter, down from 4.3 percent share year-over-year. The amount of units sold also declined for TRENDnet from 26,899 in Q3 2015 to 17,920, representing a 33 percent decline.

5. D-Link

Unit Share: 3.9

Taiwan-based networking equipment maker D-Link took the number five spot in the quarter owning 3.9 percent of the unit share, down from 5.6 percent share compared to the same quarter a year ago. Looking at units sold in Q3 2016, D-Link tallied 23,281, down from nearly 35,000 last year.

D-Link recently unveiled that it has joined forces with software giant Microsoft to deliver faster Wi-Fi to rural communities around the globe.

4. TP-Link

Unit Share: 5.2

The only ranked vendor on this list to post double-digit growth year over year was Chinese-based manufacturer TP-Link. The company nabbed 5.2 percent unit share, up from 4 percent one year ago. TP-Link sold 31,305 switching units during the quarter, up from 24,917 units last year – representing a 25 percent increase.

The company's 5-port gigabit desktop switch, the TL-SG1005D, was the fifth highest selling switching product for the quarter, according to NPD Group.

3. Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Unit Share: 11.4

HPE made a significant investment last year to boost its networking portfolio with the acquisition of Aruba Networks for $3 billion. Aruba CEO Dominic Orr recently told CRN that the company is building a low-end network product line targeting the SMB market as well as his plans to "accelerate" the rate of acquisitions.

Looking at third quarter numbers, HPE's unit share fell to 11.4 percent, down from 12.9 percent one year ago. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company sold 68,532 units for the quarter, a decrease from the 80,978 units it sold in Q3 2015 – representing a decline of 15 percent year over year.

2. Netgear

Unit Share: 27.7 percent

Netgear had the top four best-selling switches for the quarter including the most sold product in the distribution market: its ProSAFE GS-105NA 5-port switch, according to The NPD Group. The second best-selling switch in the market was Netgear's ProSAFE FS105 5-Port Fast Ethernet desktop switch.

The San Jose, Calif.-based network gear maker captured 27.7 unit share up from 24.9 percent year over year. Netgear sold 166,613 units in the quarter, compared to 156,752 units last year, a 6 percent improvement.

1. Cisco

Unit Share: 35.4 percent

The networking giant remained the unit share leader in switching, capturing 35.4 percent of the unit share and coming in around 8 points above Netgear. Cisco Systems had four of the top ten bestselling switches for the quarter including its Catalyst 2960X 24-port switch.

The San Jose, Calif.-based network leader sold 213,246 units in the quarter, which is a 7 percent drop compared to the 229,253 units Cisco sold during the same quarter one year ago. Cisco unit share slightly dropped year-over-year, from 36.5 percent in Q3 2015, to 35.4 percent.