Wireless on the up

Gartner's WLAN Magic Quadrant report notes that wireless local area networks (WLANs) have made it out of the back room and into the enterprise.

"Wireless LAN technologies have earned a place in enterprise IT; no longer relegated to conference rooms and warehouses, deployments now cover entire campuses. Vendors have developed their products to answer the stringent technology, management and security requirements of the enterprise."

The companies profiled in this Magic Quadrant (correct in November 2007) are capable of providing the basic WLAN connectivity and WiFi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) standard-based security required by corporates, the research house says.

Vendors included in the above have met Gartner's criteria, namely:

* Access point-based WLAN infrastructure is combined with a centralised management co-ordination function.
* Vendors should have sold WLAN equipment for at least one year prior to publication of the WLAN Magic Quadrant and have a sufficient installed base, sales channels, partnerships and reference customers to appeal to Global 2000 IT departments.
* Enough interest from end-users through inquiries placed by Gartner customers, appearances on shortlists and industry acknowledgement of market position.
* Focus and commitment toward the enterprise WLAN market.
* Guest networking must be supported by the controllers.
* Support for rogue AP detection through a dedicated sensor network or built into the APs using the WLAN radios or dedicated radios.
* Able to meet the minimum requirements for security as mandated by the WiFi Alliance, including those set forth in the WPA2 standard for authentication and encryption.

"This year, we have dropped coverage of Siemens, primarily because of a shift in strategy by the company to focus on the mid-market and not larger enterprise users. The company's Hi-path WLAN offering is still valid in all technical qualifications and features top-tier partnerships for vertical market solutions and voice connectivity. Siemens has positioned the products, along with the sales and marketing efforts, to take advantage of opportunities in the mid-size business market. A modified version of their offering is available through Extreme Networks," the report adds.

While the full report provides details of the assessments done, and strengths and weaknesses of each, readers will probably find the following to be most pertinent to their requirements:

3Com - Worldwide sales and support network, and networking-centric sales teams with longstanding relationships with enterprise IT buyers.

Alcatel Lucent - Global reach equalled only by the largest vendors in this market; sales and support in Europe is best-of-breed.

Aruba Networks - Strong technical vision, well implemented, security-focused management and control functions are best-of-breed.

Cisco - WLAN products serve a broad set of needs; wide variety of form-factors and price points.

Enterasys Networks - Strong technical vision for distributed enterprise users, based in part on Trapeze technology; integration includes single-access policy capabilities.

HP Procurve - Uses well-sorted AP and controller technology based on the Motorola offering, further enhanced by integration into HP Procurve networking hardware and supported by a single LAN/WLAN management console.

Motorola - Despite the macro issues facing the company, Motorola remains one of the largest vendors in the market with a strong commitment to enterprise users. One of the most thoroughly market tested offerings available from a major vendor.

Nortel Networks - Voice-centric network offering based on Trapeze technology for a/b/g technology; some integration done with Nortel voice platforms, although disparate management consoles are required.

3Com - Little ability to dictate technical direction beyond integration of wired and WLAN products; partner-centric vision for voice/data integration.

Alcatel-Lucent - Voice-centric products and services, little data integration with resold Aruba products.

Aruba Networks - Primarily a WLAN product company, Aruba will have to continue focusing on partnerships and other marketing relationships to gain additional relevance in the larger IT markets.

Cisco - Customers tend to single-source Cisco when it is the wired incumbent, ensuring they will pay a higher price than if the product were competitively bid. Cisco continues to have split wired and wireless management products; prospects for integration in the coming years are slim.

Enterasys Networks - Smaller company; despite a long history in networks, it has not seen the growth that some of its competitors have (Cisco and Nortel). Rarely seen outside of wired LAN customer base.

HP Procurve - The Motorola/HP Procurve partnership has not produced strong awareness among end-users, nor has the partnership netted many vertical solutions. HP will have to invest more in vertical marketing efforts and seek out additional software and hardware partners.

Motorola - Motorola, as a whole, continues to face significant challenges. Although most of those issues are limited to the handset division, given the contribution that plays to the companies overall health (62% of revenue), it's easy to see how shifts in that business affect all the other divisions of the company.

Nortel Networks - A recent announcement to migrate away from the Trapeze platform for future WLAN products will put Nortel 18 to 24 months behind the rest of the vendors in deploying an 802.11n product; this will be the second time Nortel has changed WLAN OEM technology. Nortel's commitment to the WLAN space can be questioned because it faces significant R&D dollar requirements to bring a competitive 802.11n product to market; spending requirements must be considered in light of the recent financial announcements.

* Report courtesy of Gartner, information sourced from: Magic Quadrant for Wireless LAN Infrastructure, 2007, Michael J King, Ken Dulaney, 20 December 2007.