REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-The enterprise wireless local area network equipment market, including both access points and switch/appliances, will overwhelm the market for standalone WLAN equipment, according to a report from Dell’Oro Group.
The report said digital subscriber line and cable customer premises equipment increasingly will come with embedded WLAN functionality, which will reduce the need for standalone WLAN devices within the small office/home office and consumer markets. In addition, as WLAN becomes embedded in more devices, such as notebook computers, personal digital assistants and telephones, the need for add-on network interface cards will decrease.
“Despite reductions in other areas, standalone gear will continue to thrive in the enterprise,” said Greg Collins, senior director of wireless LAN research at Dell’Oro Group. “Dependent access points and switch/appliance solutions will drive enterprise growth because these devices are more secure and easier to manage than WLAN networks based on independent access points.”
Dell’Oro Group expects the enterprise WLAN market to increase to $3.5 billion in 2009, representing a compound annual growth rate of 32 percent. Growth is expected to be driven by health care, education and retail.
