Abstract

2004 Wireless LAN State-of-the-Market Report
by Joanie Wexler and Steven Taylor
Published and posted February, 2004

Note that the 2005 version of this report is now available. This 2004 report remains available for archival purposes.

Abstract:

Webtorials surveyed its subscribers in December 2003 about their perceptions of wireless LANs (WLANs) and their plans to deploy them. The responses provide a multifaceted snapshot of enterprise trends in this emerging and complex market.

In summary, the Webtorials subscriber base paints the following picture of the current wireless landscape:

	There are a respectable number of WLANs installed today. A substantial number of respondents (53%) have already deployed WLANs or are currently in the process of doing so.
	Enterprises are incrementally building out their networks. This conclusion stems from the finding that the number of users with WLAN access (or planned access) in respondent organizations is significantly smaller than the total number of employees in those organizations.
	Existing users are fairly satisfied. Respondents with WLAN implementations already in place expressed a medium to high level of satisfaction with their products and WLAN experience in general.
	The primary enterprise deployment goal is to improve the productivity of mobile knowledge workers. “Anywhere, anytime” access to email and Web-based applications for knowledge workers was chosen by the most respondents as a benefit they hope to gain with WLAN use.

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Related papers and background:

View the questionnaire that was used to gather the data for this report

2005 WLAN State of the Market Report

2006 WLAN State of the Market Report

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About the Authors:

Joanie Wexler is an independent technology analyst and editor who reports on trends and issues in the computer-networking and telecommunications industries. She authors the “Wireless in the Enterprise” newsletter for Network World Fusion and contributes frequently to industry trade publications such as Business Communications Review and Computerworld.

Steven Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher of the Webtorials networking-education Web site, which conducted the survey for this report. An independent consultant, author, and teacher since 1984, Mr. Taylor is one of the industry’s most published authors and lecturers on high-bandwidth networking topics. His articles appear in Business Communications Review and Network World, and he co-authors the “Convergence” and “Wide-Area Networking” newsletters distributed by Network World Fusion.

Acknowledgment: Please note that this paper was made possible in part due to the support of Nortel Networks.

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