VDC has released the 2008 edition of its research on Slot Single Board Computers in Volume 1 of VDC’s Merchant Computer Boards for Embedded/Real-Time Applications Intelligence Program, 2008. The base year data for 2007 from this research indicates that the actual 2007 dollar volume shipments of ATCA CPU blades exceeded VDC’s previous forecast for 2007, which was published in 2006 based on year 2005 data.

It appears that ATCA may finally have achieved critical mass given that the actual 2007 market value of US$ 305.3 million – materially higher than VDC’s 2007 forecast developed in Q3 2006.

The newly released VDC forecast for ATCA CPU Blades projects growth for the years 2008, 2009, and 2010 that is modest relative to ATCA’s recent rapid growth amid fears that the current problems in credit and financial markets will adversely affected the communications industry – ATCA’s primary market. VDC expects that some previously planned “greenfields” deployments may be delayed.