According to market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC), revenue generated for the reseller channel for wireless LAN (WLAN) equipment rose by 34% globally from 2000 to 2001 and is expected to double by 2006.
By the year 2005, IDC estimates that two thirds of the world`s 1 000 largest companies will use WLANs. What is driving the popularity of wireless networks? It is undoubtedly the freedom provided by wireless technologies. Today people are spending more time on the move, and at the same time, companies require more work to be done on the corporate network or on the Internet.
The rise in the popularity of wireless networking is mirrored in the popularity of personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptops and now tablet PCs. A wireless laptop computer user can roam from one workgroup to another, from one access point to another, maintaining a steady network connection by monitoring signal strength and logging onto the one with the best quality.
Significantly, WLANs are now fast enough to accommodate the demands of everyday business. They operate at speeds of up to 11Mps, which is five times faster than the original wireless networking speed, facilitating easy access to the Internet and e-mail as well as documents and spreadsheets from a central server.
Return on investment
But, as is common today, technology for technology`s sake is not perceived as a sound investment in the corridors of corporate power. The key driving force behind WLANs is return on investment. Companies want immediate payback. They want a system to pay for itself, often in a matter of months.
WLANs can achieve this. They allow easy access to the corporate LAN from places where a wired solution would be very costly, inconvenient or impractical, such as warehouses or workshops, factory floors or outside loading areas. There is no doubt that sales force and field force workers are deriving significant benefits from mobile systems. All major sectors - finance, education, government and others - are all beginning to invest in wireless solutions.
Falling costs
WLAN equipment costs have fallen significantly in the last 12 months and are expected to drop even further in the near future. Moreover, in a WLAN, the more users you have on the network, the lower the cost per user. This is not the case with wired networks.
One of the most important benefits of a WLAN is that it can be moved to another location at a very low cost. This is an important point for growing companies that might have to move to larger premises in a year or two. With a wired network on the other hand, the cabling infrastructure is normally left behind as it is prohibitively expensive to move.
Furthermore, wireless machines allow users to share resources from a central location, and eliminate the need for - and the cost of - duplicate equipment, such as printers and software for remote locations. Furthermore, since only one server is used, maintenance costs are reduced.
Security is key
Naturally, security is an important consideration associated with the movement of mission-critical - often confidential - data over any infrastructure. However, in order for wireless to really take off in the enterprise space, more companies need to guarantee the integrity of their most important information over mobile systems. This peace of mind will give the technology the kick-start it needs to move into mainstream networking.
Today, there is no reason why this should not happen. Wireless security has improved in leaps and bounds with multiple layers of security now available - each layer providing extra and exponentially incremental security against a variety of threats.
Two examples: authentication techniques have improved significantly, while sophisticated encryption measures are also built-in features of today`s leading WLANs.
Beyond the LAN
The popularity of the WLAN will also be driven by the broader acceptance of wireless technologies and their impact on our daily lives as we move around our cities and travel overseas.
For example, wireless technologies are becoming more accessible in many countries as more hotels, airports and even shopping malls and coffee shops adopt them.
Railway operators are planning to install wireless "hotspots" at railway stations allowing mobile users the opportunity to access their e-mail or the Internet.
Most major wireless telecommunications carriers are moving toward faster infrastructures, which will have a direct impact on the business arena. Once the new third-generation (3G) networks are in place and we have higher data rates and more reliability, then we will begin to see more sophisticated applications appear.
And once people go wireless they won`t go back.
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