Because there are so many start-ups in this market, vendor viability is a huge issue. And, not surprising, it's a sensitive topic. There's not as much talk about these newbies being acquired by larger competitors. There just doesn't appear to be a large number of potential suitors.
What makes this market interesting is the sense that one or several of these start-ups could become leaders in a rapidly expanding enterprise WLAN market. That's the promise that keeps all those network engineers at work on weekends.
As you'll learn from our review of WLAN infrastructure products (see "New WLAN on Campus,"), we explored the capabilities of these new wireless infrastructures in depth, comparing them with market leader Cisco and came away convinced of two things. One, these systems represent a dramatic improvement over earlier offerings, providing compelling benefits for enterprise IT and an interesting market opportunity for new companies.
Two, which may comfort those of you who prefer a conservative approach, is that getting it right won't be all that much easier for the start-ups, which face enormous technical, marketing and channel issues, not to mention the prospect of facing off with the industry leader for the favor of enterprise IT management. Don't expect to hear many IT managers talk about replacing their Cisco infrastructure with something new.
A recurring promise from almost every WLAN vendor is: "Easy and seamless integration with your existing network and systems environment." Not even the most brazen marketer can expect experienced IT professionals to take that pledge seriously. These are complex systems and version 1.0 offerings. This stuff is brand-new.
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