Enterprise Wi-Fi Market Opportunities by Shifting toward New Normal

Wi-Fi Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) has generally been experiencing increasing demand in the enterprise market. Increasing demand for mobility, connected devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices in enterprise environments has been driving the need for more efficient and secured Wi-Fi networks. However, the COVID-19 pandemic created many changes in the way businesses operate. Government agencies and businesses forced millions to work from home, and schools and universities were closed or changed to home-based learning, resulting in delays in Wi-Fi deployments in the enterprise Wi-Fi space. According to ABI Research’s recent Wi-Fi equipment market data, in 1Q 2020 the global enterprise Wi-Fi market saw 2% fewer shipments compared to the same period in 2019.

At this moment, governments are slowly reopening the economy in many markets and businesses are starting to operate again. However, enterprise Wi-Fi CPE adoption is likely to be limited in the short term as businesses continue to evaluate their investment priorities. Although enterprise segments such as manufacturing, finance, and government services can resume business to almost full capacity, some segments such as hotels and tourism, retail, and restaurants can only operate at a very limited capacity. In the educational segment, many governments are still evaluating when to reopen schools and universities, which will result in many businesses and organizations putting investment in Wi-Fi infrastructure in 2020 on hold.

Despite the challenges in enterprise Wi-Fi caused by COVID-19, opportunities exist. As governments continue to plan for economies reopening, the shift toward new normal operations will require strategies to enable the workforce and students to safely go back to their workplaces, schools, and universities. This will require smartly managed workplaces and educational institutions to create opportunities for the enterprise Wi-Fi market to provide products and solutions that help organizations enable social distancing and contact tracing and implement health and safety policies as required.

Enterprise Wi-Fi products and solution vendors can take advantage of the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to enable organizations to safely operate their businesses, solutions supporting contactless management, remote monitoring, contact tracing, and location tracing capabilities in the enterprise networks are critical. Cloud-based solutions are expected to gain higher demand, as some businesses will still require remote working. CPE vendors need to provide devices targeting Work From Home (WFH) users that support enterprise-grade Wi-Fi CPE with simple plug-and-play installation without the need for technician assistance. Cloud-based solutions are critical for Information Technology (IT) teams for fast and scalable deployments and the remote management of security and stability Access Points (APs) installed in multiple locations.

In addition to the remote management of connectivity, enterprise Wi-Fi solutions should also support better data analysis of Wi-Fi users, devices, and activities within their networks, which can enable businesses to monitor user occupancy in specific locations. Reliable data analysis is essential to optimizing the network performance and health and safety of employees during the pandemic. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted data analytics solutions and tools can provide visibility regarding the number of users in a network, the duration of time users are connected, and the history of the locations the users have connected to the network. Real-time and historical data analysis enable organizations to implement safe social distancing and contact tracing measures when necessary. Network occupancy management and contact tracing capabilities are essential for indoor and educational environments when schools and universities plan to reopen in the fall. The integration of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) solutions and contact tracing apps can provide higher accuracy for contact tracking processes.

In response to the requirements driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, enterprise Wi-Fi CPE vendors such as Aruba Networks, Cisco, Extreme, Juniper Networks, and others have launched solutions that support data analysis for location tracing and the contract tracing of users in enterprise networks. Although COVID-19 slowed down enterprise Wi-Fi equipment deployments in early 2020, the market is expected to be driven by distributed connectivity demand even in post-pandemic conditions. Centralized connectivity management and the integration of IoT connectivity will be increasingly required to safely operate enterprise environments. In addition, the increasing use of video streaming applications in corporate events, training, and the healthcare and education sectors during and beyond the pandemic is expected to drive additional demand for more efficient and capable Wi-Fi networks. This will drive adoptions of higher Wi-Fi standards, such as Wi-Fi 6 APs, in the years to come. CPE makers and software vendors can take advantage of the requirements driven by new normal conditions to provide products and solutions that best fit organizations of various sizes across different verticals.