SONiC, the open-source network operating system Microsoft built for white box switches a decade ago, is attracting enterprise buyers as AI traffic strains data center networks, according to Network World. Several analyst forecasts point to rapid revenue growth.
650 Group expects SONiC-based data center switching revenue to pass $5 billion in 2026, with enterprise adoption rising more than 25% a year through 2027. Dell'Oro Group projects SONiC switch sales in AI scale-out networks will grow above 50% annually through 2030, when revenue should top $10 billion. Gartner counts about 2,500 organizations running SONiC in production, roughly a third of them enterprises.
Historically, hyperscalers such as Microsoft and Alibaba were the main users, since running SONiC takes specialized skills that lean enterprise teams often lack. The gap is being narrowed by vendors. Arista, Cisco, Dell and Nvidia support SONiC on their hardware, and Cisco extended support to its N9000 Series switches in May. Dell ships its own distribution with commercial support, and contract manufacturers including Wistron, Accton and Celestica offer hardened builds. Startups are also packaging SONiC with support, and Upscale reportedly raised a $100 million seed round followed by $190 million more.
The Linux Foundation's Arpit Joshipura argues that AI is now the biggest driver. About 18 months ago the project refocused its roadmap on AI workloads, adding SRv6-based load balancing, packet trimming to recover quickly from congestion, and higher-frequency telemetry for time-sensitive jobs. His claim that SONiC is the only open-source NOS tailored for AI comes from an advocate and was not independently verified in the article.
The community now exceeds 4,300 contributors, with members including Alibaba, Broadcom, Google, Microsoft, Nokia and the vendors above. A working group led by Aviz, Wistron, Cisco and Celestica is adapting SONiC for edge LANs, including Power over Ethernet and 802.1x support.
Why it matters: If the forecasts hold, switch vendors face a market where open software coexists with their proprietary stacks, and AI fabric design may increasingly be shaped by SONiC features. The projections are analyst estimates, and enterprise success will still depend on support quality and operational skills.
TwinStack automated analysis, based on reporting by Network World. Check the original for full details.