Direct Attach Cable Market Size To Reach $80.75 Billion By 2030

Direct Attach Cable Market Growth & Trends

The global direct attach cable market size is estimated to reach USD 80.75 billion by 2030, registering to grow at a CAGR of 42.9% from 2024 to 2030 according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Rising adoption of direct attach cables for data storage is likely to boost market growth through 2025. The data center landscape is changing rapidly due to increasing utilization of direct attach cables for data storage. Increasing investments by manufacturers in high-speed pluggable products have been driving demand for active optical cables and direct attach cables. This is in order to meet the requirements of high-density and high-bandwidth applications, whilst keeping power consumption low. Additionally, active optical cables act as the main transmission medium in data centers and High-Performance Computing (HPC) to ensure flexibility and stability of data transmission. The cables are used for short-range data communication and interconnect applications.

Expanding Internet penetration across the world is urging manufacturers and suppliers to invest in research and development activities with a view to develop better products for data transmission. As the production of active optical cables is a complex and expensive process, researchers are increasingly focusing on innovating reliable high-speed pluggable products, whilst keeping the cost of the final product low.

Direct attach cables primarily find application in telecommunication, data centers, networking, consumer electronics, and high-performance computing centers. The telecom sector is one of the most prominent application sectors and is regulated by government and other related regulatory authorities.

Growing use of active optical cables in digital signage and in consumer electronics such as 4K TVs is anticipated to boost the growth of the direct attach cable market. Active HDMI optic cables are increasingly preferred over traditional copper cables in consumer electronics such as 4K TVs on account of their significantly tighter bender radius compared to traditional copper cables.

Furthermore, the high threat of replacement of copper and fiber cables with wireless broadband is hindering the growth of this market. Wireless networking offers internet accessibility and connectivity to people residing in rural areas. Additionally, a low initial cost of investment and technological advancements resulting in higher frequency rates are some of the factors that are contributing to the demand for wireless broadband. Wireless broadband meets the requirements of businesses more effectively than fiber and copper due to lower latency, lesser installation time, and higher reliability and stability.

Next-generation data centers demand high-speed cables, without compromising quality and flexibility of the pluggable product. For instance, Molex, LLC introduced Quad Small Form-Factor pluggable plus products such as the QSFP28 and QSFP56-DD interconnect solutions for high-density applications with a speed of up to 400 Gbps. QSPF28 and QSFP56-DD can be combined with servers, switches, routers, and SAN cards. These pluggable products can perform in extreme high temperature environment, which includes hot data centers.

Market participants have been diversifying their product portfolio through innovative offerings. For instance, in January 2018, Nexans announced the addition of active optical cables and direct attach cables to its data center solutions product portfolio. These cables were added to enhance the product offerings of the data center business segment and were designed to offer cost-effective, high-performance, and reliable solutions.

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Direct Attach Cable Market Report Highlights

• Based on type, the active optical cable segment dominated the global industry and accounted for revenue share of 54.5% in 2023.

• The QSFP (Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable) segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2023. QSFP connectors provide a favorable equilibrium of size and functionality.

• The telecommunications segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2023. The growing implementation of 5G networks undertaken by multiple business requires a high-density network structure with more base stations and front-haul connections.

• North America direct attach cable market dominated the global market with a revenue share of 30.6% in 2023.

Direct Attach Cable Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global direct attach cable market based on product type, form factor, end user, and region:

Direct Attach Cable Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

• Direct Attach Copper Cable

  • Passive Direct Attach Copper Cable

  • Active Direct Attach Copper Cable

• Active Optical Cable

Direct Attach Cable Form Factor Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

• SFP

• QSFP

• CXP

• Cx4

• CFP

• CDFP

Direct Attach Cable End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 – 2030)

• Networking

• Telecommunications

• Data Storage

• High Performance Computing Centers (HPCs)

• Others (Consumer Electronics)

Direct Attach Cable Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

• North America

  • U.S.

  • Canada

  • Mexico

• Europe

  • Germany

  • UK

  • France

• Asia Pacific

  • China

  • Japan

  • India

• Latin America

  • Brazil

• Middle East and Africa (MEA)

List of Key Players in Direct Attach Cable Market

• Arista Networks, Inc.

• Cisco Systems, Inc.

• Cleveland Cable Company

• Hitachi, Ltd

• Juniper Networks, Inc.

• Methode Electronics

• Molex

• Nexans

• Panduit Corp.

• ProLabs Ltd

• Siemon

• 3M

• Avago Technologies, Ltd (Broadcom)

• EMCORE Corporation

• Finisar Corporation (Coherent Corp.)

• Shenzhen Gigalight Technology Co., Ltd.

• Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.

• TE Connectivity