Communications equipment is the top consumer of embedded merchant computer boards, according to Venture Development Corp.

Merchant computer board market was valued at $2.22 billion in 2003 and the communications segment share of the total was 38%. Industrial control automation and instrumentation had the second biggest share with 21%.

VDC says 84% of standards-based embedded blades went into communication applications in 2003 and 43% of single board computers (SBC) were shipped to the communications industry. For 2004, demand for SBCs in communications is expected to increase with a greater number of boards going toward edge applications, such as wireless infrastructure.

More than 42% of mezzanine card shipments went to the communications sector in 2003. Use of mezzanines in communications applications is expected to increase by about 15%, while use in many other markets (with the notable exception of military/aerospace) is expected to decline.

The rebound of the communications industry coupled with a growing trend toward use of standards-based— rather than proprietary—architectures promises healthy growth for merchant computer board consumption.