Colubris Survey: 802.11n WLANs Set to Replace Many Wired Networks

Colubris Networks, the leading global provider of intelligent wireless LANs (WLANs) for enterprises and service providers, today announced results from a survey of 200 senior IT professionals that was designed to benchmark their familiarity with the 802.11n standard and their future deployment plans. The respondents work primarily in medium to large businesses (more than 500 employees) across a wide range of industries, including healthcare, education, manufacturing and financial services. Data from the survey highlights strong interest and momentum for 802.11n deployments and point to it being an inflection point for WLANs becoming the enterprise network: · 44% of respondents already have plans to implement 802.11n. · Nearly one-third of respondents plan to replace their wired network using an 802.11n WLAN. · 62% plan to incrementally deploy 802.11n, versus doing it all at once. Not surprisingly, the key motivations for 802.11n deployments mentioned by respondents were the faster speeds, expanded coverage and ability to support a wider range of applications, including video, guest access and line-of-business applications. Providing insight into why some businesses may be slower to deploy 802.11n, the survey also found some alarming misperceptions about basic 802.11n facts, such as: · 38% of respondents did not know the theoretical bandwidth of 802.11n, which is 300 Mbps. · Only 34% could correctly identify 300 feet as the coverage range for 802.11n. · 55% of respondents were either unaware or unsure that the promised speeds of 802.11n will decrease to provide backward compatibility with a/b/g clients. In addition, the survey inquired about the IT executives’ greatest concerns about moving to 802.11n and found: · Cost and compatibility are IT executives’ greatest concerns about deploying 802.11n (69% and 60% respectively). · Other items high on their list of concerns are security (47%), technical complexity (33%) and the length of time it will take to deploy 802.11n (21%). The 802.11n misperceptions and concerns identified in the survey highlight the need for businesses to look for WLAN solutions that offer a cost-effective migration strategy from legacy standards to 802.11n to take advantage of the new standard without disruptive forklift upgrades, architectural changes or additional equipment. Unlike its competitors, Colubris’ advanced architecture is already equipped to deliver the next-generation WLAN performance levels of 802.11n. Colubris combines intelligent access points at the network edge – for highly scalable distributed traffic forwarding and full performance – with centralized control and management for consistent services and enterprise-wide mobility. Deploying 802.11n is as simple as adding a Colubris MAP-625, regardless of whether the customer purchased its network in the past or buys one today. To ensure top performance for new 802.11n clients while simultaneously supporting legacy a/b/g devices, the Colubris MAP-625 features dual radios, which eliminate the performance compromises that occur when a/b/g devices are present on the same network. The MAP-625 delivers more than five times the performance of current generation WLANs for new 802.11n clients, enabling organizations to immediately realize the full value of the new technology. “While it is exciting to see a number of businesses already planning to deploy 802.11n and use it as their primary access network, the concerns and confusion highlighted in the survey demonstrate the need for a simple, cost-effective 802.11n WLAN migration solution,” said Tom Racca, vice president of marketing for Colubris Networks. “Our controllers and management system are 802.11n-ready today and our new dual-radio access point can support n clients without legacy a/b/g clients compromising performance. Organizations can now achieve a seamless migration to 802.11n without forklift upgrades, stranded investments or having to wait to get the benefits of 802.11n because the existing WLAN vendor is not ready.” About Colubris Colubris Networks is the leading global provider of intelligent wireless networks (WLANs) for enterprises and service providers. Its optimized WLAN switching systems deliver unmatched bandwidth efficiency, seamless mobility and secure, easy access for more than 1,500 organizations and 40 million users worldwide. With its “future proof” architecture, Colubris provides organizations with the most cost-effective migration from legacy standards to 802.11n. Its systems unify and integrate with existing network infrastructures, as well as security and management systems. Colubris’ numerous recognitions include Red Herring’s top 100 private companies in North America, Fierce Wireless Fierce 15, CRN’s Emerging Tech Vendors and Mobile Trax Mobility Award. For more information, visit Colubris on the Web at www.colubris.com.