Innovation and Growth in the Enterprise Wi-Fi Market

The enterprise Wi-Fi market, meanwhile, is also growing, up about sevenpercent from last year, according to Synergy. Cisco continues todominate, with over 60 percent of enterprise sales, but there isevidence of increasing competition from both established players likeSymbol and 3Com as well as new providers like Airespace and Aruba.Cisco's recently announced Wi-Fi switching module should bolster marketmomentum in two ways. First, it will enable loyal Cisco shops to movefrom tactical to strategic deployments in a relatively painless fashion.And second, it legitimizes the architecture of many of Cisco'scompetitors, which continue to deliver new innovations at very appealingprice points.

Still, some cynics wonder whether smaller vendors can compete with aCisco that is determined to dominate enterprise Wi-Fi sales. To do so,they need to do three things. First, they have to continue to innovatewith new technologies, allowing them to capitalize on the perceptionthat they are a best-of-breed alternative. Second, they need to executeon their business plans, developing a viable global distribution andsupport infrastructure, largely through partnerships. And last, theyneed to be able to point to success stories, high-profile customers thatnot only have recognized significant business value through WLANimplementation, but are willing to talk about it publicly.

As we learned from a recent project where we sought out examples of bestpractices in the enterprise Wi-Fi market, many organizations don't wantto talk about their internal Wi-Fi projects. Some maintain their silencebecause they view their wireless deployment as a competitivedifferentiator, their own "secret sauce." Others are shy because theinternal politics surrounding the choice of vendor is intense,especially in shops that have Cisco wired infrastructure and areconsidering alternative vendors for wireless. In the end, there's acertain "what's in it for us?" mentality at work here.

The one major exception appears to be universities, which don't fit thetypical enterprise mold in several ways. First, wireless is a compellingtechnology in a campus environment where thousands of mobile informationprofessionals -- students -- do their thing. Second, many universitiesrecognize that their effectiveness in attracting the best and brightestfaculty and students is enhanced by market perceptions that they offerstate-of-the-art technology. Third, misguided technocrats cannot easilysquelch technology innovation within universities. In fact, individualacademic subunits are often given an implicit license to operate outsidethe constraints of central policy, often competing with the central ITorganization for leadership. Finally, given their historic role in bothcreating and implementing the basic technologies upon which modern datanetworks are based, there's more of a willingness to take a chance on anew vendor with a better idea.

-- Dave Molta, [email protected]