World Market for VITA Standards-based Boards and Systems

The full market report: “World Market for VITA Standards-based Boards and Systems – 2021 Edition”, is now available for purchase from the VITA online store.

Areas covered include:

• Executive summary
• Recent mergers and acquisitions
• Report introduction and method
• Market share percentages of major vendors
• Sales by revenue and units by board and system type
• Perceived trends affecting business
• Perceived risks to business operations

Executive Summary

Annual sales of VITA-standards based products (VME, VPX and PMC/XMC) to the merchant market are estimated to have increased on average 6.3% from 2019 to 2020. Boards are the highest in revenue, while systems sales are the fastest growing aspect. 6U VPX systems were the fastest growing form-factor from 2019 to 2020.

The majority of VME and VPX boards and systems are sold to defense prime contractors that, in turn, sell to governments. The largest customer for defense electronics is the United States, with the US Department of Defense (DoD) budget having the greatest impact on market growth. US defense spending in total remains relatively steady, but the budget allocation emphasizes compute-heavy technologies and has supported the increase in demand for VME and VPX boards and systems.

Market trends reported by VITA suppliers include the Open Systems DoD mandate; sensor proliferation using artificial intelligence (AI); and an increased emphasis on security by offering trusted computing solutions. The OpenVPX standard being championed by VITA aligns well with the US Department of Defense’s demand for improved implementation of open standards and interoperability. VITA members are also harnessing the latest AI chip technology and developing accelerator boards for intensive data-processing applications. VITA market leading companies also offer a rigorous approach to supply chain security.

Business challenges in the reporting period include the supply chain interruption caused by COVID-19 and in particular the global semiconductor shortage. Continuing challenges include product obsolescence, particularly regarding VMEbus, already in its 40th year of production. The use of COTS servers and virtualization of applications, rather than using dedicated hardware, is an ongoing challenge in some markets.

VITA member companies continue to grow both organically and by acquisition and there has been some merger and acquisition activity during the period that has placed a significant value on the expertise and capabilities of these VITA-standard suppliers.