Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc said it is fully committed to WLAN (wireless local area network) technology, and is positioning its products specifically at the enterprise market space.
“There are clearly two distinct markets for WLAN. The first is the small-medium business (SMB) and small office home office (SOHO) markets, while the second consists of the enterprise market,” said James A. Furneaux, product manager for wireless networking at Cisco’s Asia Pacific office.
“And it’s the latter that Cisco is targeting,” he added.
Furneaux acknowledged that while there may be many players in WLAN technology, many focus on SMB/ SOHO customers, while few focus on the enterprise markets.
“Cisco is not competing with companies offering rudimentary wireless AP (access point) for the mass consumer market, but to companies, for the purpose of enhancing their businesses,” he told reporters at a media briefing in Petaling Jaya recently.
Furneaux said that according to a research published by Synergy Research Group Inc, total WLAN equipment sales is forecast to be worth US$3.6bil (RM13.7bil) in 2003 alone, set to increase to US$4.9bil (18.6bil) in 2006.
News source: The Star TechCentral- Cisco eyes WLAN enterprise markets
“There are clearly two distinct markets for WLAN. The first is the small-medium business (SMB) and small office home office (SOHO) markets, while the second consists of the enterprise market,” said James A. Furneaux, product manager for wireless networking at Cisco’s Asia Pacific office.
“And it’s the latter that Cisco is targeting,” he added.
Furneaux acknowledged that while there may be many players in WLAN technology, many focus on SMB/ SOHO customers, while few focus on the enterprise markets.
“Cisco is not competing with companies offering rudimentary wireless AP (access point) for the mass consumer market, but to companies, for the purpose of enhancing their businesses,” he told reporters at a media briefing in Petaling Jaya recently.
Furneaux said that according to a research published by Synergy Research Group Inc, total WLAN equipment sales is forecast to be worth US$3.6bil (RM13.7bil) in 2003 alone, set to increase to US$4.9bil (18.6bil) in 2006.
News source: The Star TechCentral- Cisco eyes WLAN enterprise markets
“Thus, we firmly believe that WLAN – especially the enterprise markets – is a viable and profitable business for Cisco because of its size and potential,” he said.
Furneaux said the enterprise market consists of the retail, healthcare, transportation and education sectors, amongst others.
Meanwhile, Cisco has launched the Cisco Aironet 1200 series access point (AP), a uniquely designed AP which supports the simultaneous operations of Wi-Fi 802.11b and Wi-Fi 802.11a.
An access point, as its name suggests, is a point from which a notebook computer equipped with a WLAN card gains access to the Internet in a WLAN environment. WLAN, or commonly known as Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), is the family of specifications created by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc (IEEE).
According to Furneaux, Wi-Fi 802.11b, the available standard today, has a maximum transmission speed of 11 Mbps (megabit per second), while the next generation Wi-Fi 802.11a has a maximum transmission speed of 54 Mbps.
The company said that the modular design of the Aironet 1200 series AP allows for both single and dual-radio configurations.
“Thus, the Aironet 1200 series AP protects existing customer investments in Wi-Fi 802.11b, while delivering a seamless migration path to Wi-Fi 802.11a,” said Furneaux.
The Cisco Aironet 1200 series AP, which features a factory standard 802.11b radio and available slot for the addition of an 802.11a radio module has a list price of $US999 (RM3,796), while the dual-band version with both radios fitted in costs $US1,499 (RM5,696).
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