1/13/2005 -- This year may finally see the emergence of wireless LANs (WLANs) from mere novelty in organizations, according to a recent survey from market research firm In-Stat/MDR. In-Stat researchers say WLANs are becoming more pervasive and more integral to the day-to-day operations of business customers.

For some time now, WLANs have been viewed as an “overlay” to wired LANs, In-Stat concedes. To some extent, this is still very true in organizations that have existing investments in WLAN infrastructure. But in shops that haven’t yet deployed WLANs, a curious thing is happening: Survey respondents indicate that planned WLANs will be accessible to a larger percentage of the business’ employees and consist of a larger number of access points than current WLANs.

What’s more, In-Stat says, respondents have also earmarked larger mean CAPEX budgets for future WLAN deployments, at least when compared to the mean CAPEX budgets for current WLAN deployments.

Not surprisingly, security is the top concern among all of the segments of respondents, says In-Stat analyst Sam Lucero. “[Security] should be a top concern for WLAN IC and WLAN equipment vendors when developing, marketing and selling their products,” he writes.

In fact, security concerns were cited as the top reason for respondents that haven’t deployed WLANs in their networks. The second-most frequently cited reason among organizations that haven’t yet deployed and don’t plan to deploy WLANs was a simple and obvious one: "No need for WLANs." Here again, however, these respondents said that the best thing vendors could do to change their minds about WLANs would be to add enhanced security to their wireless products.

Elsewhere, In-Stat found that consumer and SOHO vendors like Cisco Systems Inc. subsidiary Linksys, D-Link and Netgear have successfully penetrated even enterprise businesses with their WLAN solutions. This is true even among organizations that are planning more robust WLAN expenditures in the future: Linksys, D-Link and Netgear are among the key vendors they’re considering as WLAN equipment suppliers.

What use cases are driving WLAN uptake in enterprise environments? Basic network access, not surprisingly, is the most frequently cited driver. -Stephen Swoyer