VARs Bank On Midmarket's Growing Reliance On Wireless World

Slowly but surely, midsize companies are cutting the cords connecting their executives, factory floors, conference rooms and distribution centers.

Last year, only 6 percent of midsize and large companies had deployed broad-coverage Wi-Fi networks, according to Jupiter Research. By year’s end, it expects that base to reach 22 percent.

Total sales of WLAN equipment in all segments during the first quarter of 2005 grew 15 percent year-over-year, according to In-Stat. First-quarter shipments of Wi-Fi equipment generated worldwide revenue of almost $738 million, the research firm found.

“In a midsize company, you might have a wireless LAN somewhere in the company but not throughout the company. The idea of enterprisewide adoption of WLANs is very small,” said Eric Shuster, founder and CEO of IntelliClear, Colorado Springs, Co. “The adoption of some WLANs is 50 percent and may skyrocket into the 70s and 80s [percentile].”

>> Vendors’ sharpening focus on manageability has been crucial to WLANs’ recent success, VARs say.

Verteks Consulting’s WLAN business has been booming during the past year, said Don Gulling, president of the Ocala, Fla.-based reseller, which specializes in midsize banking, distribution and insurance companies as well as state and local government agencies. “For us, it hasn’t been an ongoing, steadily growing area. In the last year, it literally exploded.”

The earlier standards had problems, he said. “[802.11b] was too slow, [802.11a] was too difficult to implement,” he said. “[802.11]g is a perfect fit. It’s all hit a nexus.”

But now, catalysts such as lower prices, improved security and management, the emergence of standards, the influx of top-tier vendors, user comfort with the technology and more functionality are contributing sparks to the midmarket wireless movement.

“It’s a lot easier for midsize companies to add and integrate wireless as part of their integrated network,” said Chris Marco, president of TerraWave Solutions, a distributor of Wi-Fi accessories and infrastructure solutions in San Antonio. “Everything leveled off in the past year.”

Vendors’ sharpening focus on manageability has been crucial to WLANs’ recent success, solution providers said. San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco, for example, now offers a family of WLAN controllers as part of its strategy for addressing the needs of midsize businesses.

“Midsize companies tend to have an enhanced focus on ease of use,” said Alan Cohen, senior director of marketing for Cisco’s wireless networking business unit. “That’s why they’ve gravitated to the controller solutions. It plugs in, and it works. That’s what they’re looking for.”

Moreover, advances in security—both through add-on products and the Wi-Fi 802.11g standard—have allayed the fears of many previously wary IT executives.

Likewise, developers and resellers are creating products and services designed to help midsize adopters manage their wireless, mobile networks, he said.

And vendors continue to roll out products designed for midsize-company checkbooks. Today, wireless NICs are available for about $100, Marco said. In 1997, it cost $795 for a slow model, he said. Elsewhere, wireless switches have fallen below $10,000, causing product sales to surge.

Complementary technologies, including VoIP and digital security solutions, also are giving solution providers additional means of generating client interest in WLAN implementations. “Voice-over-IP is now about half of our business,” Gulling said. “When we do VoIP, a lot of times customers are evaluating their entire IT structure.”

In fact, while solution providers may be unable to make a living focusing exclusively on wireless networks, by integrating this technology into their existing solutions or by partnering with an expert in this field, they can take advantage of the midmarket’s deepening reliance on a cordless world.

ALISON DIANA is a freelance writer who specializes in technology and channel issues.