Data Center Ethernet Switch Tracker – 4Q24

Manoj Sukumaran

Principal Analyst, Data center IT

Manoj is Omdia’s data center computing and networking expert. He covers trailblazing technologies such as processors that enable the programmability of compute and networking hardware, edge computing, composable infrastructure, and the adoption of open compute hardware. He has over 15 years of experience in engineering and financial services, consulting, and research.

Before joining Omdia, Manoj was the founder and director of QWave India, a hardware engineering services company that specializes in designing data center hardware for clients such as Facebook and LinkedIn. His team delivered Facebook’s first three open compute switches, pioneering the bare metal switching technology that has revolutionized the data center. He also worked on the architecture and design of Open19’s first switch and server. Manoj has also held senior positions in financial services, consulting, and media companies. He holds two bachelor’s degrees—one in physics and one in information technology—and an MBA from India’s Mahatma Gandhi University.

Aaron Lewis

Analyst, Cloud and Data Centre

Aaron works with cloud and data center computing trends, specializing in server connectivity. He has experience in financial forecasting, journalism, management consultancy, and research.

He has prior experience working on the research of digital infrastructure, including cloud and data center and blockchain technology. He also has experience as a financial analyst and focused intensely on understanding the technology to write white papers. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in chemistry from University College London.

Shen Wang

Principal Analyst, Data Center Power & Cooling Systems

Wang Shen is a principal analyst in Omdia, Informa Tech. He has been responsible for the consulting and custom studies in data center tech areas, and now he leads the data center physical infrastructure, thermal management, and sustainability research practice.

Prior to joining IHS Markit (Now as Omdia) in 2017, Wang Shen worked at eldoLED B.V. in the Netherlands as technical application manager on smart power electronic products. Before that, he developed smart conceptual electronic products at Philips Research in Eindhoven, he published technical papers on international journals, and hold several patents.

In the meantime, Shen was also a technical translator and reviewer for industrial publishing houses, and also a columnist for industry medias, he has successfully conducted many research cases, and often gives speeches at data center power & sustainability related conferences or seminars and quoted by industry medias.

Shen earned an MSc (Ir.) degree in Sustainable Energy Technology from Technische Universiteit Eindhoven and a BSc degree in Electric Engineering & Automation from Fudan University.

Siraj Aziz

Analyst, Cloud and Data Center

Siraj focuses on the data center infrastructure market, covering modular data centers, data center racks, and rack power distribution units (PDUs). Siraj has over five years of experience in the technology research industry, providing extensive desk research and end-to-end content creation across various topics such as smart cities, artificial intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT).

Prior to joining Omdia (previously IHS Markit) in July 2018, Siraj worked as a research assistant at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He also had brief assignments as a research intern at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and Securities Commission Malaysia. Siraj earned a master’s degree in development studies from the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK, in 2015