Global network functions virtualization (NFV) hardware, software and services market is forecast to reach $11.6 billion in 2019, up from $2.3 billion in 2015, according to IHS.
"NFV represents operators' shift from a hardware focus to software focus, and our forecasts show this. We believe NFV software will comprise over 80 percent of the $11.6 billion total NFV revenue in 2019," said Michael Howard, senior research director for carrier networks at the reserch firm. He added that the software is always a much larger investment than the server, storage and switch hardware, representing about $4 of every $5 spent on NFV.
According to IHS, revenue from outsourced services for NFV projects is projected to grow at a 71 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2014 to 2019. At the same time, revenue from software-only video content delivery network (CDN) functions for managing and distributing data is forecast by IHS to grow 30-fold from 2015 to 2019.
