Strategic enterprise networking opportunities

Wireless LAN solutions

Despite only being pushed wholeheartedly to end-users for the past couple of years, wLAN equipment is already beginning to make its mark on the enterprise arena. Almost 20 per cent of interviewees claim to have already deployed some form of wLAN system, with a further 18 per cent either testing or evaluating the technology.

Datamonitor research shows that the majority of enterprise deployments to date have been relatively low scale, with companies looking at ways to utilize the technology before widespread usage is considered. Many of the organizations interviewed for this study commented that wLAN would need to demonstrate cost-related benefits before deployment would be considered. In addition, there are currently a number of perceived flaws of wLAN equipment that are restricting uptake.

Voice & data convergence

Overall, 20 per cent of respondents already run voice services over their data networks, with a further 12 per cent actively evaluating solutions. However, around two-thirds of interviewees stated that they were either not currently considering, or would never consider, such a system. This is worrying news for vendors providing solutions in this area, as it means that the viable target market for converged voice services is significantly reduced.