Vertiv Ranked as a Global Leader in $720m Market for Remote IT Management Devices
New opportunities emerge for Vertiv channel partners in growth sectors for KVM and serial consoles driven by edge
compute and digital transformation
Vertiv has been ranked by market intelligence firm IHS Markit as the number one supplier of remote IT management devices
worldwide by revenue for 2018 in its recent KVM Switches and Serial Consoles Report 2019 report. The market for keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) switches and serial consoles was worth $723.5 million globally in 2018
and is expected to grow by more than 5% during 2019.
The IHS Markit report revealed IT spending, which grew by more than 6% globally in 2018 and looks set for positive and
steady increases from 2019 to 2022, as a key driver for remote IT management devices. As well as overall IT spending
growth, another key factor is digital transformation which continues to drive expansion of data centre capacity from the
core to the edge, according to IHS Markit. Growth in developing markets, where adoption of KVM is still relatively low,
will also be an important future driver.
“Despite some headwinds to start 2019, robust IT spend forecast through 2023 will be a major driver for the KVM market,”
said Alastair Smith, senior analyst for manufacturing technology at IHS Markit, referring to the slow global IT spending
trend at the beginning of 2019. “As a market share leader, Vertiv has a broad portfolio of KVM products across many
applications.”
Vertiv works with an established, and growing, network of channel partners to provide customers with an extensive
portfolio of products including Avocent® remote IT management devices. The IHS Markit report reveals a growth in remote
IT management related to edge deployments – particularly in the area of industrial PCs. Industrial PCs are ruggedized
systems that are built for harsh applications. In 2017, the global market for industrial PCs was worth $3.5 billion and
IHS Markit forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.1% to $4.3 billion in 2022.
“Our broad offering of KVM technologies and availability through our network of distributors and resellers are key
factors in our leadership position,” said Patrick Quirk, vice president and general manager for the IT Systems global
line of business for Vertiv. “Vertiv is dedicated to leading in this space, and continues to devote resources to
research and development of best-in-class solutions.”
“Being recognized as a market leader in a sector that enjoys positive levels of growth is great news for Vertiv and our
channel partners,” said Andy Baker, global vice president of sales for Vertiv’s Avocent business. “Vertiv has been
recognised for its best-in-market products and services but has also developed a comprehensive program to provide partners with everything they need to meet the demanding needs of their end-customers.”
Vertiv’s portfolio of monitoring and management devices includes Avocent® HMX 6000 High Performance KVM Systems which can be used for industrial PC applications, and Avocent® MergePoint Unity™ Digital KVM Switches designed for data centre applications.