Collectively as an industry, we are witnessing, contributing to, and ultimately leading a time of momentous change in optics and photonics. While fundamental research continues to advance new opportunities for science, applications stemming from existing technologies have given rise to a new landscape of business opportunity. In many cases, we’re waiting for the application to step up to meet the technological solution.
Take, for example, optical communications. According to a Yole Group report, by 2027, the optical transceiver market will grow to nearly $25 billion, spurred by advancements in some non-traditional applications. In fact, “Optical Transceivers for Datacom & Telecom” concludes that optical interconnects will continue to grow in use cases aligning with their high-power computing and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) applications within data centers. This expanding functionality of optical elements will continue to fuel their applicability in emerging technology spaces, and the next five years will be dominated by the evolution of silicon photonics as a platform, co-packaged optics for switch functions, and coherent technologies. And that only touches on one market within the vast optics and photonics business community.
However, today brings with it not only the challenges of advancing science and technology, but also the guesswork of anticipating the next trends to ensure our companies not only remain relevant but thrive. Future-state implications like next-generation internet, networks as sensors, and alternate approaches to pluggable optics raise more questions than answers for those working on the bleeding edge of technological development.
As leaders, we must cut through the noise and pinpoint the specific advances that engender new opportunities for our business lines. We must solicit the information necessary to gain a big-picture understanding of the broader landscape so that we can fine-tune those concepts in a way that aligns with our individual objectives. But we can’t do that from news alone; we need a unique combination of market analysis, peer dialogue, and environmental assessment to ensure we have the right mix of information to make informed and strategic decisions.
With that in mind, at Optica, we’ve partnered with the Yole Group to deliver more than 20 market reports. These materials provide a focused look at industry topics from 2021 to today and project ahead for what 2027 may hold in fields as diverse as silicon photonics, augmented and virtual reality, 3D imaging and sensing, and more. Available exclusively to Optica Corporate Members, via the Optica Industry Online Library, we believe these reports provide the foundation necessary for business planning in 2023.
In addition, events like our upcoming Executive Forum at OFC 2023 assemble leaders in the field to discuss how these developments apply to their models and what’s next in their unique spaces. Live events offer an opportunity to not just listen and learn but contribute and meet. From those interactions, we can better inform our own short- and long-term planning and identify guideposts along the way.
We are in a unique time: COVID-19, global supply chain issues, a tightening economic environment and pending recession, the war in Ukraine, and more have delivered a new level of volatility to our businesses. That uncertainty begs us to identify a more concrete roadmap as we pave our way forward. In short, our best-laid plans have taken a beating, but we have the power to bolster them once more with analysis, dialogue, and development, and that’s the primary goal of Optica’s corporate member program.
Because as we all know, the only constant is change, but change brings with it new opportunity. We have the power to harness it in new ways. So, now’s the time to embrace this dynamic environment, armed with critical information about where we’ve been and where we’re heading. With depth of knowledge comes wisdom, and we can use that insight to not respond to but drive the change that lies ahead. After all, isn’t that the charge of a true industry leader?