The global network functions virtualization (NFV) market was worth USD 28.68 billion in 2023. The global market is predicted to reach USD 35.48 billion in 2024 and USD 194.51 billion in 2032, growing at a CAGR of 23.70% during the forecast period.
The global network virtualization market is expected to grow during the forecast period, driven by growing demand for administration and deployment of network services. Network Function Virtualization (NFV) decouples functions such as firewalls, network address translation (NAT), domain name service (DNS), intrusion detection, and others. The mobile industry has experienced increasing demand for data-intensive applications, which also require better network capacity to meet customer requirements, which should drive growth in the global NFV market. Reducing power, cooling, and space requirements for equipment and simplifying network services management have greatly encouraged market demand for NFV. Network Function Virtualization represents a shift in focus from hardware to software in the telecommunications industry, with operators investing more in software than in storage, server, and switch hardware. The software segment represents a significant part of the network functions virtualization market in terms of revenue contribution.
In addition, technological advances and the use of routers, switches, mobile edges, and optical transport due to improved performance and reduced costs are expected to stimulate the global NFV market over the forecast period. NFV is a central structural change in how a telecommunications infrastructure is implemented and dramatically changes how applications are delivered to service providers. Increased deployment of virtualized software in enterprise data centers, including Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), is driving market growth. However, the delay in adopting this technology hinders this market. In addition, the increased demand for data-intensive applications and the need for cloud-based services should offer great opportunities for market expansion.
The virtual appliance comprises network functions, which include traffic forwarding, monitoring, protection, caching, IDS, DNS, and others. These operations are carried out onboard Virtual Customer Premise (VCPe) teams. This has significantly affected companies in streamlining the complexity of their network, and therefore, the segment is expected to experience decent momentum in the coming years. Orchestration and automation involve software-defined network (SDN) drivers, virtual infrastructure managers, NFV orchestrators, and WAN configurations. The primary task of orchestration is to automate and enhance the creation of network services through a combination of virtualized network (VNF) functions, scaling, auto repair, and cycle management.
Business customers quickly embrace NFV because it offers significant benefits such as increased network efficiency through centralized management, increased IT agility, and network customization through fast and reliable application services. Business customers have been classified into various vertical sectors such as banking, finance, and insurance (BFSI), manufacturing, retail, healthcare, education, transportation and logistics, energy and public services, and others, including hotels, transport and logistics, means of communication: entertainment and utilities. In the current scenario, the deployment of NFV prevails in the vertical BFSI, retail, manufacturing, and healthcare markets.
REPORT METRIC |
DETAILS |
Market Size Available |
2023 to 2032 |
Base Year |
2023 |
Forecast Period |
2024 to 2032 |
CAGR |
23.70% |
Segments Covered |
By Component, Application, and Region |
Various Analyses Covered |
Global, Regional, & Country Level Analysis, Segment-Level Analysis, DROC, PESTLE Analysis, Porter’s Five Forces Analysis, Competitive Landscape, Analyst Overview on Investment Opportunities |
Regions Covered |
North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, Middle East & Africa |
Market Leaders Profiled |
Cisco (United States), Ericsson (United States), Huawei (China), VMware (United States), Nokia (Finland), HPE (United States), Dell EMC (USA), Juniper Networks (USA), Affirmed Networks (USA), NETSCOUT (USA), NEC (Japan), Ribbon Communications (USA), ZTE Corporation (China), Fujitsu (Japan), Ciena (States) (United States), ECI Telecom (Israel), Metaswitch (United Kingdom), Mavenir (United States), Radisys (United States) and Wind River (UNITED STATES) and Others. |
North America is estimated to represent most of the NFV market. The North American NFV market is promoted by rapidly adopting technologies like cloud computing, all-defined software (SDx), and IoT. Robust industrialization in countries like the United States and Canada has always been a positive factor in promoting rapid growth in various sectors of activity. North American countries have favorable network standards and regulations that help drive growth in the NFV market. North America has several market giants like IBM, Juniper Networks, and Cisco. Due to the increase in 5G implementations, the adoption of NFV is increasing in the region. However, in NFV, control of the entire network is done with the controller; therefore, implementation requires various organizational, functional, and cultural changes within organizations.
Companies playing a key role in the global network function virtualization (NFV) market include Cisco (United States), Ericsson (United States), Huawei (China), VMware (United States), Nokia (Finland), HPE (United States), Dell EMC (USA), Juniper Networks (USA), Affirmed Networks (USA), NETSCOUT (USA), NEC (Japan), Ribbon Communications (USA), ZTE Corporation (China), Fujitsu (Japan), Ciena (States) (United States), ECI Telecom (Israel), Metaswitch (United Kingdom), Mavenir (United States), Radisys (United States), Wind River (UNITED STATES), and others.
In September 2019, Cisco introduced a new version, 3.12.x, of Cisco Enterprise NFVIS. New and improved features include enhancements to the Data Plan Development Kit (DPDK), such as extending the service bridge to platforms and migrating virtual machines (VMs) with the Physical Network Adapter (PNIC)) () associated with the DPDK bridge.
In October 2019, Nokia implemented and introduced new optical packet switches for the RAN 5G Cloud. These recently introduced optical packet transport switches offer time-sensitive networking (TSN), ultra-low latency, and cloud-native radio architectures necessary to support critical 5G services.
In November 2019, VMware expanded its partnership with Nokia to simplify multi-cloud operations on a large scale. This partnership also aims to increase investment, technology collaboration, and advanced research and development to develop integrated solutions.
In March 2019, Huawei developed a novel solution, Telco Cloud Networking. The solution will help operators provide innovative services strengthening 5G, IoT, and virtual reality (VR).
Ericsson partnered with NVIDIA in October 2019 to offer 5G Radio Access Networks (RAN). As part of this collaboration, the two companies will focus on developing technologies enabling communication service providers to create a virtualized 5G RAN.
By Component
Software
Infrastructure
Services
By Application
Switching Elements (Routers)
Service Guarantee
Next-Generation Signaling
Safety Function
Others
By Region
North America
The United States
Canada
Rest of North America
Europe
The United Kingdom
Spain
Germany
Italy
France
Rest of Europe
The Asia Pacific
India
Japan
China
Australia
Singapore
Malaysia
South Korea
New Zealand
Southeast Asia
Latin America
Brazil
Argentina
Mexico
Rest of LATAM
The Middle East and Africa
Saudi Arabia
UAE
Lebanon
Jordan
Cyprus
Frequently Asked Questions
NFV optimizes network resources by enabling the virtualization of various network functions, eliminating the need for dedicated hardware. This results in better resource utilization, increased agility, and a more efficient allocation of network resources on a global scale.
The telecommunications sector plays a pivotal role in NFV adoption, as it seeks to enhance network efficiency and reduce operational costs. The integration of NFV in telecommunications infrastructure is a key driver for the market's growth on a global scale.
NFV is integral to the evolution of 5G networks, providing the flexibility needed to deploy and manage diverse services efficiently. Its ability to virtualize network functions aligns with the dynamic requirements of 5G, driving its adoption globally.
Yes, industries such as IT, telecommunications, and healthcare are major contributors to the international growth of the NFV market. These sectors leverage NFV to enhance network performance, reduce costs, and improve overall operational efficiency.
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