Saturday, March 03, 2007

Startups knocking on Cisco WLAN

"The wireless local area network equipment market isn't a place you'd expect to see startups with high hopes of snatching business away from Cisco Systems or the other market leaders. But as more companies get serious about installing wireless LANs, this growing market appears to have plenty of opportunities, especially for new ideas.
Businesses initially deployed WLANs for occasional use -- say, to give workers network access in conference rooms and to let guests and other transients have Internet access on company premises. More recently, they've become networks of choice for some businesses, often covering large areas and connecting branch offices. Sixty-three percent of U.S. companies use in-house WLANs to provide access to applications, according to a Forrester Research survey a year ago. They face the challenge of finding the right equipment vendor with a system that can handle the load, as well as offer strong security and reliability. Cisco holds 66% of the market, Gartner says, but it's a market growing fast enough to leave opportunity for startups."

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