1/13/2011 -- For almost a decade now, Cisco Systems Inc. and Juniper Networks Inc. have been circling one another warily in the enterprise WLAN ring, probing for weaknesses. With its acquisition of Belden Inc.'s Trapeze WLAN assets, Juniper might have thrown off the gloves. An enterprise WLAN throwdown could be next.

Cisco and Juniper could trade punches in more than just the WLAN space.

Last month, for example, Juniper acquired video delivery technology from Blackwave, a provider of Internet video storage and delivery technologies.

Just last week, Juniper bought virtualization security specialist Altor Networks.

Needless to say, Cisco has its own ambitions in both segments.

Analysts see the Trapeze acquisition, in particular, as quite a feather in Cisco's cap. "Trapeze allows Juniper to deliver a broader, end-to-end networking portfolio to enterprise branch and campus locations, offering a mix of switching, routing, network security and now wireless access," notes Paula Musich, a researcher with consultancy Current Analysis.

The acquisition could be a coup for both Juniper and Trapeze. For one thing, it helps shore up Juniper's position relative to arch-rival Cisco in the red-hot enterprise WLAN segment. Secondly, it could be a boon to Trapeze, which Mitsch says stagnated (to a certain extent) under Belden's stewardship.

"Juniper has the opportunity to restore the momentum Trapeze lost as a part of Belden to grow its rather slim market share and become a much more formidable competitor," she comments, adding that the acquisition "immediately opens up new market opportunities in a market segment that is seeing fast growth, and gives Juniper an opportunity to differentiate the Trapeze WLAN portfolio through integration with Juniper's networking and security infrastructure as well as management tools at a time when the market is ripe for such integration."

For this reason, the acquisition of Trapeze is potentially a market-changing move. "[E]nterprises are increasingly turning to their wired networking vendors for WLAN solutions, and Juniper now offers a much more viable alternative to Cisco, the 800 pound gorilla in the market," she concludes. "This is a growth buy for Juniper, which has been very selective in its acquisitions, and it is clear that Juniper intends to be an aggressive competitor in this market."
--By Stephen Swoyer