Gartner. Licensed for Distribution Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure 6 March 2024 - ID G00785075 - 41 min read By Tim Zimmerman, Christian Canales, and 2 more Automation, security and migration strategies are the primary drivers for infrastructure strategies as the market continues to move away from hardware. |&0 leaders must use this research to deliver wired and wireless infrastructure to their campus, branch and remote-office environments Strategic Planning Assumption Through at least 2026, over 70% of wireless local-area network (WLAN) deployments will lack a tangible use case for organizations to deploy Wi-Fi 7, as most business applications do not require the enhanced capabilities of the new standard. By 2027, 70% of enterprises refreshing and/or expanding their WLAN will upgrade to Wi-Fi 7, due to. future proofing aspirations and vendor push combined with aggressive product marketing, Market Definition/Description This document was revised on 11 March 2024. The document you are viewing is the corrected version. For more information, see the Corrections page on gartner.com. Gartner defines the enterprise wired and wireless LAN infrastructure market as wired and wireless networking hardware and the related network software. Related components of the solution include enterprise switches, access points and the requisite tools to secure, manage, test and optimize the network infrastructure that provides connectivity for users, devices and applications that may reside ‘on the network or on other networks. Enterprises in all vertical markets use enterprise wired and wireless networks to connect and transport data for fixed and end-user devices to applications that may be local or remote to the physical end user. In addition to physical connectivity, these solutions provide the following capabilities in diverse markets, including the ability to:* Discover, identify, secure, manage and segment Internet of Things (loT)/operational technology (07) devices © Support, test and maintain network infrastructure components * Provide a resilience infrastructure * Secure the network infrastructure * Provide scalability and flexibility for management and control plane communication processes * Provide no-touch/low-touch Day 2 environment Must-Have Capabilities The must-have capabilities of this market include: © IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi-certified access points that support 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz. * Ethernet network switches suitable for deployment at the network access, distribution and core network layers, * WiFi process control and management plane functionality placed on a physical appliance, virtual machine, which can be located at the edge, in the data center or cloud-based. * Anetwork management application. * Secured and managed third-party devices on the network. * Security for device authentication and authorization, such as 802.1X. * Security policy enforcement application. * Awired and wireless intrusion detection. * Telemetry for troubleshooting and optimization of the network. Standard Capabilities The standard capabilities for this market include: * Access points that support indoor and outdoor environments with optional external antennas and that support Wi-Fi 5, 6 and 6E certifications. © The ability to provide Power over Ethernet (PoE) to all components.* Aqguest access portal that allows for guests to be directed outside of the firewall for internet connectivity. * The ability to view network analytics for the end users and applications they use on their devices. * Anetwork fabric that can create dedicated channels of communication across the end-user connection to its destination that are governed by a policy. The fabric should be able to extend across competitive equipment (i.e., access points and switches). * Network monitoring, such as user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA), that can be integrated with the network security policy to take that appropriate action. * The ability to collect and export telemetry data that allow Al- and ML-enabled network assurance tools to troubleshoot and optimize the network. © The ability to detect and report configuration drift, # The ability to discover, identify, secure and manage nonuser devices (loT/OT). * Application visibility and/or performance management. * The ability to manage through exported API, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and other methods of legacy competitive access points and switches. Itis important to note that this research is not inclusive of wired and wireless networking infrastructure devices that are primarily used to support adjacent markets, such as point-to-point WAN offerings. Optional Capabilities Optional capabilities for this market include: * Indoor location services Natural language troubleshooting interface Consumption-based pricing models (NaaS) Ability to collect and use telemetry data from competitive access points and switches Integration with ITSM applications, including ticketing Private/public 5G integration and offloading © The ability to apply full zero trust principles to all connected users and devices QuadrantFigure 1: Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN s Infrastructure @ ine @HPE (Arte) Huawei @ vice @ ENE MENAworks © sine @ Co7Scope (RUCKUS) @ Mista Naworks > ABILITY TO EXECUTE COMPLETENESS OF VISION —> ‘As of January 2024 © Gartner, Inc Gartner Vendor Strengths and Cautions ALE Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE) is a Niche Player in this Magic Quadrant. its OmniSwitch switches, OmniAccess Stellar wireless access points and OmniVista management products broadly address the enterprise network market. ALE’s portfolio includes on-premises and cloud-based management options with network fabric segmentation and universal network policy for IT and loT provisioning. The company prioritizes the midsize enterprise (MSE) business market segment, and its clients are primarily in the government, healthcare and transportation verticals. Gartner expects ALE to continue investing organically in software capabilities for network security, visibility and assurance, with inorganic investment in vendor technology partnerships to continue filling out solutions for the portfolio offeringStrengths * Campus networking fabric: Clients in ALE’s key target verticals (government, healthcare, transportation and education) looking for simplified management and streamlined automation will benefit from ALE's fabric architecture and industry-specific expertise. * Universal network policy — UPAM/NAC: ALE’s Intelligent Fabric and OmniVista management solutions include onboarding, segmentation and secure policy provisioning across the wired and wireless network edge for customers with IT, loT and OT requirements. * Technology partnerships and solutions: ALE has strong partnerships for SASE solutions, SSE cloud security solutions, and video management systems to provide customers with extensible systems. Cautions «Lack of parity between cloud and on-premises offerings: OmniVista 2500 Network Manager System and OmniVista Cirrus do not ship with feature parity. ALE plans continued investment in development, however, customers must ensure that the required functionality is available in their preferred deployment model today.. + Limited Alops functionality: ALE is trailing leaders in this research for advanced visibility and assurance functions. The OmniVista Network Advisor, and separate Rainbow collaboration platform, have limited use-case outputs and autoremediation, Customers are advised to test functionality as part of a proof of concept before buying. * NaaS product offering: ALE offers a buying model for customers that includes some capex in the initial purchase. This product offering doesn't not meet Gartner's definition for NaaS; however, it may appeal to buyers that seek some reduction in initial capital outlay. Allied Telesis Allied Telesis is a Niche Player in this Magic Quadrant. The company has a broad switching portfolio led by the x9x0 series switches and a WLAN offering that can address most use cases, but is currently missing a Wi-Fi 6E model. The portfolio is governed by Vista Manager EX, the Autonomous Management Framework Plus (AMF Plus), the AMF-Security Controller and the Autonomous Wave Control (AWC) wireless controller. Allied Telesis focuses on customers in the healthcare, education, government and healthcare sectors, and its operations are geographically diverse. Gartner expects Allied Telesis to start adding Al/ML-based analytics to its network management solution in 2024, to ease off network operations with features such as guided troubleshooting ‘Strengths © Enterprise-grade network management features: AMF Plus and the AMF Security Controller are optional add-ons to Vista Manager EX, resulting in a breadth of features that include quality of service (QoS) traffic prioritization, endpoint policy enforcement and malware protection.* Multivendor management: AMF Plus provides support for third-party network devices, simplifying the administration of wired and wireless infrastructure. * Unified operating system: Allied Telesis has a single OS, AlliedWare Plus, which eases management and configuration capabilities across all products, including routers and firewalls. Cautions © Lack of network fabric: Allied Telesis lacks a native network fabric, which limits segmentation and policy enforcement and may require a partner product. * Lack of AlOps features: Allied Telesis does not yet have Al/ML-based analytics for network assurance services, such as root cause analysis of issues arising from baselined application performance, guided troubleshooting and a natural language interface. * Limited market visibility. Allied Telesis has limited wired and wireless LAN market visibility among customers and prospects outside of Japan, based on end-user Gartner interactions, gartner.com searches and social media conversations. Arista Networks Arista Networks is a Visionary in this Magic Quadrant. The company addresses the enterprise networking market with its 700 series leaf switches and 7000 series enterprise spine switches; Cognitive Wi-Fi access points that include WiFi 6E; and its CloudVision management platform. Most of Arista’s customers are located in North America and are in the financial, healthcare and higher education sectors. Gartner expects Arista to continue to invest in its CloudVision integrated security and Al and ML capabilities, with functionality further extending to the data center. This architecture expansion will aim to deliver proactive network performance monitoring, application visibility and policy enforcement across the campus, WAN and data center. Strengths «Network management tools that simplify operations: Arista’s CloudVision platform is unified for both campus and data center management; it also supports digital twin capabilities for testing and validation of configuration/connectivity changes to the campus network. * Differentiated network security strategy: Arista is one of the few vendors in this research with a NDR offering for advanced threat detection and incident response use cases. The launch of CloudVision Arista Guardian for Network Identity (AGNI) in 2923, a NAC product, adds risk and behavior assessment of endpoints. * Advanced Al and ML capabilities: Arista's CloudVision Alps includes the Autonomous Virtual Assist (AVA) platform for natural language processing, in addition to automated trouble ticketing, incident severity classification and issue remediation, and predictive analytics.Cautions © Limited exposure outside its data center customer base: Arista’s strategy targets its data center customer base to grow its campus networking business, limiting market visibility, especially in the midmarket. * Price premiums: Arista's campus switching portfolio, predominantly targeted at large enterprises, has a price premium. Measured in the average revenue per port, it is among the highest in the industry. « Limited exposure outside North America: This region accounted for more than 60% of Arista’s wired and wireless LAN revenue in 2023. Organizations considering Arista should verify product and service availability in their geography. ‘Cambium Networks Cambium Networks is a Niche Player in this Magic Quadrant. Cambium’s ONE Network solution addresses the enterprise market with wired switches (via its cnMatrix product line) and access points with software-defined radios. cnMaestro X manages the entire Cambium product family. Cambium focuses on customers in the hospitality, education, government and healthcare sectors, and its operations are geographically diverse. Gartner expects Cambium to enhance its ePSK technology for simplified device onboarding, including loT endpoints, and to continue to invest in its Alps capabilities Strengths * Broadened network management capabilities: Cambium's recently introduced Network Service Edge (NSE) solution extends enMaestro's network management to include SD-WAN, network security and outdoor fixed wireless. * Cambium's “assists” feature: This application provides a security auditing capability that continually scans the network, and reports and provides resolution of misconfigured products, as well as identification of the potential risk. * Flexible software-defined radios: The software-defined radios in Cambium's access points allow for enterprises to change the radio frequencies (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz or 6 GHz). Up to five radios can be configured for high-density requirements or for the need to simultaneously support different WLAN installations. Cautions * Fragmented loT segmentation capabilities: NSE supports segmentation of wired loT endpoints, while cnMaestro X leverages Cambium's ePSK technology for wireless loT onboarding Additionally, Cambium does not have a campus fabric, limiting its ability to segment devices as a unified construct to the access layer, with no support of VXLAN* Limited enterprise vertical exposure: Cambium has limited visibility in the enterprise space outside the hospitality, education and healthcare verticals. Cambium's exposure at deployment scales above MSE is also very limited. * Lack of modular chassis switch: This portfolio gap prevents Cambium from adequately addressing high-density access or high-speed core/distribution use cases, in which a common high-speed backplane and redundant management and power supplies in a single chassis are highly desirable. Cisco Cisco is a Leader in this Magic Quadrant. Its Catalyst and Meraki products deliver a broad portfolio of wired and wireless access products, network applications and services. Its operations are geographically diversified, and Cisco services clients in all markets, from small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to large enterprises. Cisco's vision for Networking Cloud is to unify the on- premises catalyst hardware with the simplicity of the cloud-based Meraki management to deliver flexible options for its customers. Gartner expects Cisco will continue to invest in its on-premises management (DNA Center, now Catalyst Center), NAC (Identity Services Engine [ISE]), and SDA Fabric solutions as they strive to achieve use-case parity and experience consistency across the two portfolios. Strengths * Portfolio breadth: The scope of Cisco's wired and wireless hardware and software product portfolio addresses use cases across market verticals, business organizations of all sizes and network deployment scenarios of any type * Advanced network assurance: Cisco's integration of ThousandEyes throughout the portfolio, along with its deep relationship with device vendors (Apple, Intel, Samsung), is delivering real-world insights for IT and security operational use cases * Geographic reach: Cisco's extensive global reach within direct and indirect sales channels positions it as a campus networking vendor capable of delivering and supporting effective solutions to clients worldwide. Cautions * Rising prices: Cisco customers cite high prices to obtain, refresh and maintain Cisco wired and wireless infrastructure. * On-premises and cloud lack parity: Cisco buyers must make a decision on the management solution they intend to deploy — Meraki in the cloud, or Catalyst Center on-premises. Differences in solutions create a buying gap for key generative Al, AlOps and security analytics features.* Security portfolio decision: Cisco's vast security portfolio creates buyer confusion, with an increase in the total cost of ownership (TCO), as customers choose from optional software components such as XDR, ISE, Umbrella and Secure Network Analytics. ‘CommsScope (RUCKUS) RUCKUS Networks, owned by CommScope, is a Visionary in this Magic Quadrant. The company addresses the market with its RUCKUS brand ICX wired switches, R series wireless access points and RUCKUS One — its network management and AlOps platform. RUCKUS operates globally and focuses primarily on the federal, state and local government segments of the enterprise network market, as well as the education segment. Gartner expects that RUCKUS will continue to invest in the AlOps capabilities of its RUCKUS One platform, its network security and segmentation capabilities, and in expanding its integration with WAN edge capabilities. ‘Strengths * Network management with Alps features: The RUCKUS One platform has several strong capabilities, including network assurance services, profiling and policy enforcement of endpoints (including lo), and digital twin features for testing and validation of Wi-Fi upgrades. * Detailed root cause analysis tools: RUCKUS Al, the Al engine of RUCKUS One, offers detailed analysis across the wired and wireless network. Users can see the root cause assessment data and apply resolution suggestions. * Security strategy: RUCKUS One comes with integrated NAC functionality at no extra cost, and the RUCKUS WAN Gateway provides network services such as microsegmentation, DNS and firewalling to switches and WLAN access points. Cautions © Limited experience in large complex network requirements: RUCKUS has limited experience in large enterprise network environments, especially in complex core layer network deployments. * Digital twin functionality gaps: RUCKUS One does not support the verification of switching network configurations in a virtual testing environment, since its digital twin capabilities are limited to wireless. * Lack of modular chassis switch: This portfolio gap prevents RUCKUS from adequately addressing high-density access or high-speed core/distribution use cases, in which a common high-speed backplane and redundant management and power supplies in a single chassis are highly desirable, Extreme Networks