Top 10 Best-Selling Access Points By Brand In Q2 2016

Aruba Taking Cisco Shares

Although networking giant Cisco led the way in access points sold through distribution for the second quarter of 2016, Aruba Networks is stealing market share, according to market research firm NPD Group.

Cisco's dollar share through distribution dropped nearly 5 percent year over year, while Aruba's share in the space increased around 5 percent, NPD Group found. Cisco and Aruba – a subsidiary of Hewlett Packard Enterprise -- accounted for approximately 75 percent of the $216 million market during the quarter. But smaller network providers like Ubiquiti Networks and Aerohive Networks saw the biggest growth rates year over year.

The following are the top ten best-selling access points (AP) brands for the second quarter, according to NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based firm, which provides data from leading technology distributors.

10. Engenius Technologies

Total Q2 Sales: $1,874,564

Dollar Share: 0.9%

AP sales through distribution dropped 22 percent year over year to $1.8 million for Engenius in the second quarter of 2016. Dollar share for the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based wireless specialist slightly dropped by 0.3 points. Last year, Engenius unveiled a new partner program that included a certification course for its ProAV integrator partners.

9. Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Total Q2 Sales: $2,424,094

Dollar Share: 1.1%

Access point sales for HPE dropped significantly year over year from $5.3 million to $2.4 million. However, HPE now owns Aruba Networks, which is ranked No. 2 in the distribution AP market. For its recent second quarterly earnings, Palo Alto, Calif.-based HPE reported overall networking revenue of $874 million, up a whopping 57 percent year over year, thanks to its $3 billion acquisition of Aruba last year.

8. Meru Networks (Fortinet)

Total Q2 Sales: $2,540,901

Dollar Share: 1.2%

Sales for Meru Networks, a subsidiary of Fortinet, remained somewhat flat year over year, growing only 1 percent to $2.5 million. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based vendor's dollar share stayed the same at 1.2 percent. Fortinet acquired Meru last year for a price tag of $44 million to boost its enterprise wireless portfolio.

7. Extreme Networks

Total Q2 Sales: $3,729,441

Dollar Share: 1.7%

The San Jose, Calif.-based networking vendor grew its AP distribution sales by nearly 41 percent year over year to $3.7 million, while the vendor's dollar share rose slightly by 0.4 percent compared to 2015. Extreme is rebranding its product portfolio and increasing its marketing efforts with a focus on the midlevel enterprise campus space, according to Extreme CEO Edward Meyercord.

6. Xirrus

Total Q2 Sales: $4,932,081

Dollar Share: 2.3%

The wireless vendor took a huge hit in distribution sales in the second quarter, dropping 33 percent from nearly $7.4 million to $4.9 million. Thousands Oaks, Calif.-based Xirrus also dropped dollar share from 3.6 percent to 2.3 percent compared to a year ago.

Xirrus recently launched new four- and eight-radio high density 802.11ac Wave 2 APs, touting itself as having the broadest Wave 2 portfolio in the Wi-Fi industry.

5. Aerohive Networks

Total Q2 Sales: $5,233,626

Dollar Share: 2.4%

With the second largest growth rate in the market, Aerohive Networks grew distribution sales from $2.8 million to $5.2 million year over year – representing an increase of 82 percent in the second quarter. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based network provider also increased its dollar share in the market from 1.4 percent last year to 2.4 percent.

Aerohive recently unveiled significant upgrades to its networking portfolio by launching new 802.11ac Wave 2 AP's alongside a new line of switches.

4. Ubiquiti Networks

Total Q2 Sales: $10,135,431

Dollar Share: 4.7%

Ubiquiti Networks grew its distribution sales by a whopping 112 percent year over year, jumping from $4.7 million to more than $10.1 million. The San Jose, Calif.-based wireless specialist doubled its dollar share in the market from 2.3 percent last year to 4.7 percent.

Ubiquiti's UniFi 802.11ac PRO wireless AP with Power over Ethernet was the sixth best-selling AP in the market for the second quarter.

3. Ruckus Wireless (Brocade Communications)

Total Q2 Sales: $13,297,296

Dollar Share: 6.2%

Ruckus Wireless, acquired this year by Brocade Communications, saw modest growth in its distribution sales, increasing 2.8 percent year over year to $13.3 million. Ruckus' dollar share in the market remained about the same year over year at 6.2 percent.

Brocade and Ruckus leaders told CRN the merger will create new market opportunities for channel partners and expand their end-to-end solutions portfolio.

2. Aruba Networks (HPE)

Total Q2 Sales: $47,886,360

Dollar Share: 22.2%

Aruba Networks stole some serious distribution dollar share from networking giant Cisco in the second quarter, capturing 22.2 percent market share, up from 17.3 percent a year ago. Aruba, which was acquired by HPE last year for $3 billion, generated nearly $12 million more in distribution sales in the second quarter this year compared to the same period in 2015.

In March, HPE-Aruba launched its first-ever combined network solutions with the goal of taking market share from Cisco.

1. Cisco

Total Q2 Sales: $116,143,664

Dollar Share: 53.8%

Cisco, the longtime dominant market leader, captured $116 million in distribution sales - more than the nine other companies on this list sold in the quarter combined. But Cisco's access points dollar share in the distribution market dropped 4.9 percent compared to a year ago when it generated $120 million in sales.

Cisco fielded five of the top 10 best-selling AP products in the quarter, including the biggest selling access point on the market – the Cisco Meraki MR32 802.11ac wireless AP.