Skip to main content

How Wireless LANs Now Support Many Apps at Work

Once again, the bring-you-own-device (BYOD) to work phenomena will help to elevate personal communications within the typical office or factory environment -- thanks to the ongoing adoption of smartphone apps in the workplace. Today, Wi-Fi is being used to connect a variety of devices, besides notebook PCs.

Many consumers already use their home Wi-Fi connection to improve the communication capabilities of their smartphone while indoors. They use Facebook WhatsApp for impromptu chats with friends and family and Google Hangouts Dialer to make high-quality voice calls to anywhere in America, for free. Naturally, they expect the same type of benefits at their employer's facilities.

Consumer and Enterprise Mobility Advances

The combined consumer and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments increased 7.0 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2014 (4Q14), according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC).

The enterprise segment continued to grow at a steady rate and increased another 7.4 percent over the same period last year. After an uptick in year-over-year growth in 3Q14 (9.4 percent), the enterprise WLAN market growth rate resumed a pattern of incremental growth rate decreases.

For the full year 2014, the enterprise WLAN market grew 8.5 percent year over year, significantly lower than the gains seen in the last few years.

The 802.11ac standard continues to see adoption in the enterprise segment. After six full quarters of product availability, the 802.11ac standard already accounts for just over 30 percent of dependent access point shipments and 44 percent of dependent access point revenues, representing a noticeably faster adoption rate than the 802.11a/b/g to 802.11n transition several years ago.

Some of the reasons behind this trend include increasingly complete indoor and outdoor 802.11ac portfolios, competitive pricing relative to 802.11n access points, and the higher throughput of 802.11ac that helps meet the demands of savvy mobile communication users.

"Where appropriate, enterprises worldwide are seeking to move mission-critical functions from the wired network to wireless," said Rohit Mehra, vice president at IDC. "These organizations are migrating to 802.11ac in order to experience wire-like speeds that enable a more nimble, mobile enterprise. As the 802.11ac ecosystem grows even more robust, expect this to continue for the foreseeable future."

From a geographic perspective, the enterprise WLAN market once again performed especially well in Latin America with 14.2 percent year-over-year growth in 4Q14. The EMEA region notched its third consecutive quarter of solid growth, increasing 9.4 percent year over year.

North America saw a second consecutive quarter of strong growth, increasing 9.3 percent in 4Q14. The Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) enterprise WLAN market increased 3.0 percent on an annual basis in 4Q14. On the other hand, the enterprise WLAN market experienced weakness in Japan, which declined -16.6 percent in 4Q14.

Popular posts from this blog

Industrial and Manufacturing Technology Growth

In an evolving era of rapid advancement, market demand for innovative technology in the industrial and manufacturing sectors is skyrocketing. Leaders are recognizing the immense potential of digital transformation and are driving initiatives to integrate technologies into their business operations.  These initiatives aim to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and ultimately drive growth and competitiveness in an increasingly digital business upward trajectory. The industrial and manufacturing sectors have been the backbone of the Global Networked Economy, contributing $16 trillion in value in 2021. Industrial and Manufacturing Tech Market Development   This growth represents a 20 percent increase from 2020, highlighting the resilience and adaptability of these sectors in the face of unprecedented challenges, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research . The five largest manufacturing verticals -- automotive, computer and electronic, primary metal, food, and machinery -

Rise of AI-Enabled Smart Traffic Management

The demand for smart traffic management systems has grown due to rising urban populations and increasing vehicle ownership. With more people and cars concentrated in cities, problems like traffic congestion, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions are pressing issues. Since the early 2000s, government leaders have been exploring ways to leverage advances in IoT connectivity, sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics to address these transportation challenges. The concept of a Smart City emerged in the 2010s, with smart mobility and intelligent traffic management as key components.  Smart Traffic Management Market Development Concerns about continued climate change, as well as cost savings from improved traffic flow, have further motivated local government investment in these advanced systems. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, they found that by 2028, smart traffic management investment will be up by 75 percent from a 2023 figure of

GenAI Revolution: The Future of B2B Sales Apps

When B2B buyers consider a purchase they spend just 17 percent of that time meeting with vendors. When they are comparing multiple suppliers‚ time spent with any one salesperson is 5 or 6 percent. Self-directed B2B buyer online research has already changed procurement. IT vendors are less likely to be involved in solution assessment. Now, more disruptive changes are on the horizon. By 2028, 60 percent of B2B seller work will be executed through conversational user interfaces via Generative Artificial Intelligence sales technologies -- that's up from less than 5 percent in 2023, according to Gartner. Generative AI Market Development "Sales operations leaders and their technology teams must prepare for the convergence of new forms of artificial intelligence, dynamic process automation, and reinvented deal-planning activities that will transform the sales function," said Adnan Zijadic, director analyst at Gartner . According to the Gartner assessment, Generative AI (GenAI) s