The global IPv6 market was valued at US$1.259 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30.79% over the forecast period to reach a total market size of US$8.24 billion in 2027. 

IPv6 is the next generation of Internet Protocol, which can identify devices connected across the network to allow them to be located. Irrespective of the type, every device, which is connected to the internet, has its own IP address through which it is identified, and communication over the internet works. The earlier version, IPv4, which has been in use for a very long time, leverages a 32-bit addressing scheme that successfully supports 4.3 billion devices connected and communicating over the internet. However, this no longer seems enough as the continuously increasing penetration of the internet across all key regions and robust sales of personal computers and mobile devices have been increasing the demand for more addresses. The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) has further increased the need to adopt approaches that can aid in dealing with the IP address crunch. Since this situation had been foreseen by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) around two decades back, in 1998, marked the creation of IPv6. This latest version of Internet Protocol uses a 128-bit addressing scheme, as opposed to the 32-bit addressing scheme used by IPv4 and can support nearly 3.403E+38 (around 340 trillion) devices. Not just this, this next-generation internet protocol has the capability to increase packet handling efficiency, enhance performance, and significantly improve security. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can quickly scale down their routing tables’ size while making them more hierarchical. However, the adoption of IPv6 has been restricted to some extent owing to Network Address Translation (NAT). NAT allows an enterprise machine with a private IP address to communicate with machines with public IP addresses located outside their private network by converting the private IP address of such machines to a public IP address. Without NAT, enterprises, which have thousands of devices or systems connected to the internet, would witness the need for a considerable number of public IPv4 addresses if they wish to communicate with machines in the outside world. Since public IPv4 addresses are limited, the NAT machine acts as a link between thousands of private address computers or machines to machines on the public network. When a privately addressed machine attempts to communicate with a machine on the public network, packets first reach the NAT machine, where the source and destination address of the packet is stored. Then the NAT machine converts the packet’s source address to the NAT device’s public-facing address. The packet is then sent to its destination. NAT has been delaying the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses, thus affecting this market growth to some extent. Nevertheless, the market growth is robust, which is evident from the compound annual growth rate of 32.40%, which is expected till the end of our projected period.

One of the major drivers for this market is rapid growth in the number of devices connected to the internet across the globe. According to data from Cisco, the total number of networked devices in the world was expected to grow from 17.1 billion in 2016 to 27.1 billion in 2021. The company expected the number of networked devices globally to increase to 26.3 billion by the end of this year. Much of this increase is coming from the rapid growth of the Internet of Things across the globe. Internet of Things (IoT) is known to have the capability to fundamentally change our way of interacting with our surroundings. Monitoring and managing physical objects electronically, a capability offered by the Internet of Things, allows users to incorporate data-driven decision-making into almost every aspect of life. Optimization of systems and processes’ performance, time-saving for businesses and people, and improved quality of life are just some of the benefits this novel approach offers. Users can expect to streamline everything from monitoring machines across facilities to tracking ships at sea, as sensors continue to aid end-users in churning out a lot more physical assets. Internet of Things can be instrumental in enhancing the efficiency and performance of machines, increasing their lifespan, and aiding users in unlocking ways in which these machines can be redesigned to push their capabilities. In the healthcare landscape, solutions like smart wearables and portable monitors, which leverage the power of the Internet of Things, are known to significantly improve health outcomes, especially in areas that involve the diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes, insomnia, and others. In the consumer applications segment, solutions such as smart HVAC systems, smart home appliances, and IoT-driven entertainment and security systems, among others, continue to give end-users a glimpse into the IoT-driven future. In an industrial environment, manufacturing companies and oil and gas companies, among companies operating in many other sectors, have already started witnessing the initial payoff from smart IoT-based solutions across their operations. As this trend continues to strengthen its traction, suppliers of IoT technologies and solutions can be seen pumping more investments into research and development and into creating strategies that can aid them and their customers in designing, developing, and operating complex systems. At the same time, they work towards filling the existing gap between their ability to gather data from their physical environment and their ability to churn out actionable insights from it in less time. In the automotive landscape, automakers, in order to boost their revenue growth, and to gain a competitive edge over their rivals, have been pushing sensors and IoT solutions deeper into their vehicles. The industry is already witnessing slow growth overall, and disruptions are required to boost the industry's growth. With the incorporation of smart sensors into vehicles, automakers seek to offer more value to the customers for the price they pay. The rapid growth of V2X, which means that vehicles will be able to communicate seamlessly with nearly everyone and everything, means that the number of devices connected to the internet is expected to surge dramatically over the next few years. This is driving the demand for IPv6, thus increasing the flow of investments into this market across the globe.

Geographically, the global IPv6 market has been segmented into North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific. To give a clearer view, these regional markets have been further segmented into countries that account for a significant share of this market. North America and Europe, known to be the early adopters of new technologies, account for a significant share of this market. The presence of a good number of market players, coupled with state-of-the-art infrastructure across these regions, is expected to contribute to the market growth across them. The Asia Pacific IPv6 market, however, is expected to show rapid growth over the projected period. With countries like China and South Korea, which have been some of the biggest producers of ICT equipment globally, this regional market is expected to witness impressive growth over our projected period. Japan and India have also been key markets for IPv6. Since all these countries have been holding a key position in the global ICT landscape, investments into IPv6 across these countries are expected to remain good. Other regions like South America, and the Middle East and Africa also account for a decent share of this market. However, market growth across them is expected to show a growth slower than that in the other three regions. We expect the global IPv6 market to witness some disruptive changes due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease across all these regions. The sudden increase in the spread of the virus across all these regions pushed governments to impose nationwide lockdowns to curb the disease's spread. In the best interest of their employees, many companies implemented work from home policy. These factors surged the demand for many mobile computing devices and other devices which use the internet to function. Since many ISPs are showing a continuous drift toward IPv6, investments in IPv6 have shown some increase. Yet, uncertainties pertaining to the duration of the pandemic and cash flow amidst it affected the flow of investments into IPv6 to some extent. Overall investments into the market, however, are expected to remain good over this year. As the adverse effects of this pandemic are expected to fade away by next year, overall market growth till 2025 is expected to remain robust.

Competitive Insights

Prominent key market players in the global IPv6 market include Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., ZTE Corporation, Cisco, D-Link Corporation, Belkin International, Inc., and NETGEAR, among others. These companies hold a noteworthy share in the market on account of their good brand image and product offerings. Major players in the portfolio management system market have been covered along with their relative competitive position and strategies. The report also mentions recent deals and investments of different market players over the last two years.

COVID-19 impact on Global IPv6 Market:

The increase in IPv6 utilisation as a result of the COVID-19 problem is unquestionably beneficial to the Internet industry as a whole. Additionally, as data centres and head offices become less accessible and remote working becomes a more permanent feature, we're seeing a big shift toward investment in cloud networking technology and cloud-native applications. Cloud technology's scalability, flexibility, and agility provide much-needed benefits for the Enterprise in these trying times. The transition to a remote workforce, on the other hand, has resulted in rising network demand around the world.

Key development:

• Pv6 is becoming increasingly popular around the world. The IPv6 development scenario in France was profiled by Jean-Charles Bisecco, an IPv6 Task Force expert with the French regulator ARCEP. IPv6 adoption, according to Bisecco, is influenced by a number of factors, including legislation, network status, and service development. IPv6 adoption is currently increasing in France. By 2024, it is expected that more than two-thirds of terminals will use IPv6, and more than 90% of operator fixed networks will utilise IPv6 as a result of policies and regulations.
• According to EANTC, an international testing centre, SRv6 has a bright future. Rossenhövel now feels that SRv6 is "ready for prime time" after the organisation completed a multi-vendor SRv6 joint test, which completely proves the operability of SRv6 in large-scale networking.

Global IPv6 Market Scope:

Segmentation

• By Enterprise Size
  • SMEs
  • Large Enterprises
• By Geography
  • North America
    • USA
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • South America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Others
  • Europe
    • UK
    • Germany
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Others
  • Middle East and Africa
    • UAE
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Others
  • Asia Pacific
    • China
    • Japan
    • India
    • South Korea
    • Indonesia
    • Australia
    • Others

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What will be the IPv6 market size by 2027?
A1. The global IPv6 market is expected to reach a market size of US$8.24 billion by 2027. 

Q2. What is the size of the global IPv6 market?
A2. IPv6 Market was valued at US$1.259 billion in 2020. 

Q3. What are the growth prospects for the IPv6 market?
A3. The IPv6 market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30.79% over the forecast period. 

Q4. Which region holds the largest market share in the IPv6 market?
A4. North America and Europe, which are known to be the early adopters of new technologies, account for a significant share of the IPv6 market.

 
Q5. What factors are anticipated to drive the IPv6 market growth?
A5. One of the major drivers for the IPv6 market is rapid growth in the number of devices connected to the internet across the globe.