A new competitive ranking from global technology intelligence firm ABI Research provides an unbiased ranking of 10 equipment vendors in the enterprise Wireless Local Access Network (WLAN) networking market. The profiled companies are assessed on both innovation and implementation, with the former category encompassing technological leadership, portfolio range, ability to address specialist markets, network management capabilities, and additional value-added services, and the latter commercial influence, value-proposition, strategic partnerships and acquisitions, service models, implementation, and support.
HPE Aruba Networking has been awarded the top position in the competitive ranking owing to its broad range of proprietary WLAN technologies and strong WLAN portfolio, advanced Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps) and automation platform, and the introduction of Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) throughout its entire portfolio in 2022. Juniper Networks scored second, with company strengths including the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Juniper Mist cloud networking platform, the industry-leading automation and analytics provided by Mist AI, and unique capabilities, such as patented virtual Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) antenna arrays and proprietary algorithms that can eliminate deployment errors. Cisco claimed third place on account of the significant technological innovation that the company brings to the industry, including the advanced analytics, automation, and security features of Cisco’s network management platforms, alongside its strong commercial position and the broad range of strategic partnerships that the company has developed.
“Enterprise WLAN vendors operate in a mature market with many deep-rooted incumbents safeguarding their market share with robust global distributor and reseller channels across various business verticals,” says Andrew Spivey, Senior Analyst at ABI Research. “Vendors looking to expand are required to develop highly optimized end-to-end solutions for the specific vertical they are targeting. For example, Extreme Networks’ solutions have been optimized for large public venues, while Arista has focused almost exclusively on data centers and campus environments.”
As closer parity occurs at the hardware level, we are increasingly seeing greater divergence at the software level, in the areas of network management, automation, orchestration, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML). This has opened a new front of differentiation, on which some vendors have successfully capitalized. Juniper Networks is a strong example here, having brought to market one of the industry’s leading secure, unified AI-driven cloud networking platforms, Juniper Mist, alongside advanced insights and automation with Juniper Mist AI. In recent years many companies, notably Aruba, Juniper Networks, and Cisco have built up their software offering through the pursuit of strategic acquisitions and partnerships, while others, such as Cambium Networks, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, and Huawei, have instead predominantly grown their capabilities instead through natural expansion. While acquisitions offer a faster route to attaining new abilities, there are significant advantages to developing in-house, including greater consistency and unity across the portfolio. Huawei stands out as a vendor that built many of its innovative capabilities in-house thanks to its unique ability to leverage innovations made in its 5G technologies to enhance its WLAN products, as the company did for its digital pre-distortion technology.
“Another key area of differentiation, and of opportunity, has emerged from the transition away from Capital Expenditure (CAPEX)-heavy investments toward Operational Expenditure (OPEX) models in the form of Network-as-a-Service (NaaS),” adds Spivey. “Vendors which have successfully implemented the most competitive NaaS solutions scored highly, with Aruba’s leading rank in part a reflection of its successful introduction of NaaS across its entire portfolio in 2022.”
These findings are from ABI Research’s Enterprise Wi-Fi and WLAN Vendors competitive ranking.
