Several years ago, I had the chance to launch and briefly run a Web site for members of the photonics community. During my short stint, I also had the chance to attend my first optical show -- Photonics East.
I was amazed as I strolled the Photonics East show floor. Coming from the wireless market, I was accustomed to wireless show floors that had style, flash, flare, and even magicians.
But what I found at Photonics East was a quiet show floor. When going booth to booth, engineers had plenty of time to leisurely go over projects they were working on a few years down the road, and they very rarely mentioned the word communication. While the conference sessions were pretty full, the show floor was dead, and the focus was clearly not on comm design.
Three years later, these same companies are singing a different tune. While attending the Optical Fiber Conference (OFC) earlier this year, these once low-key photonic companies had a new aura. There was a buzz around them. Engineers and sales personnel were on their feet dealing with many customers. And everywhere you turned, the word communication was floating around.
I was amazed by the activity surrounding the photonic companies that I had met several years back. More importantly, I was surprised to see them speaking so openly about comm. What could be causing such excitement around these companies? And then it hit me. The optical communication industry had brought new life to these once low-key manufacturers.
Since OFC, I've spent a great deal of time tracking the optical communication market. What I've found is an more exciting market than expected. According to Frost & Sullivan, the DWDM market will grow 39.4% from 1996 to 2003. In a recent report, RHK, a research firm in the optical market, said that the worldwide market for optical communication components will hit $23 billion by 2003.
The enormous growth potential of the optical comm market has not gone unnoticed in the development community. Companies are dumping tons of money into development solutions for the optical comm community. And, they are voraciously acquiring other companies, attempting to improve their overall portfolio.
This change has had the biggest impact on traditional photonic developers. Like their RF counterparts, these companies spent a great deal of time developing products for high-end applications, such as the military. Now, however, they find themselves in the highly competitive comm market, where flash, flare, and style rule.
The challenge for traditional photonic developers is to adjust to the change. Focusing on technologies that will hit the market three years from now is important, but delivering solutions today is king. De-veloping high-performance systems is great, but the systems had better be cost effective. These companies have to realize that they are no longer simply an optical developer. They are communication companies.
Will all of the traditional photonic developers make it in the fast-paced optical comm market? Probably not. Some will be acquired. Some will go away. Others will focus their attention on other market segments. But some companies will make the change. And for them, the future is bright.
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