Cisco Cisco 3600 Series 8-Port ISDN-BRI with NT-1 Network Module Prospecto

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ENTERPRISE WIRELESS LANS

You can spend a lot of time developing ROI models to justify an enterprise

WLAN, but why bother? This is just something you have to do, unless your

shop is hyper-security-sensitive or plans to defy the trends toward increas-

ingly mobile work patterns and notebook computer use. Wi-Fi is built into

notebooks, employees have wireless at home, and they want it at work, too.

And so do your visitors. Spend your time figuring out how to do it right, with

rock-solid security, efficient manageability and capacity for growth.

The holy grail of Wi-Fi as the default network
connection has the potential to cut cabling
costs, and IT staff access to Wi-Fi services can
positively impact operational effectiveness.
Security features required for wireless can be
leveraged to enhance wired network security. 

Wireless networks introduce significant secu-
rity risks, their implementation often requires
reallocation of IT resources, and rapid evolu-
tion of standards means short technology-
refresh windows. Still, a failure to implement
secure Wi-Fi services leaves the door open to
rogues.

Benefits of Wi-Fi vary significantly, based prima-
rily on the degree to which internal operational
efficiency can be enhanced through mobile infor-
mation access. Vertical industries can often
demonstrate clear ROI; value in carpeted enter-
prise is generally softer. 

Employees will balk at a decision not to deploy
Wi-Fi services. Attempts to bypass IT policies
by implementing personal or departmental Wi-
Fi systems introduce significant information
security risks.

In business sectors such as retail, health care
and education, wireless is essential to competi-
tiveness. In other businesses, it's all about
enhancing personal productivity and shrinking
decision windows. 

Mobile information access can transform busi-
ness processes in some industries, so ignoring
it may not be an option. However, leveraging
Wi-Fi for competitive advantage is not easy
because the highest return often comes from a
pervasive deployment.

When that happens, will Aruba, Symbol, 3Com or any
other WLAN player be able to keep Cisco from extend-
ing its wireline dominance to wireless? 

That depends on whether enterprise IT pros see

going with a smaller vendor as a gamble or a smart bet.
We have time to contemplate this scenario, of course—
the wireless play won’t happen overnight. In fact, in
our reader poll for this article, only about 8 percent of
respondents saw Wi-Fi displacing Ethernet as the most
common form of network access during the next three
years. But a wise strategist plans five or 10 years ahead,
and by then a new generation of Wi-Fi gear will be
broadly available, offering 10, even 100 times the per-
formance of today’s technologies. 

Lots of No-Shows

N

ETWORK

C

OMPUTING

takes an in-depth look at the enterprise

WLAN space about once a year. Our evaluation in Feb-
ruary 2005 proved interesting because we tested Cisco
and Airespace gear side by side and concluded that
Airespace had the better offering. Unbeknownst to us,
Cisco was performing the same evaluation and agreed

with our assessment. By the time our review went to
press, Cisco had announced its acquisition of Aire-
space. Since then, the company has been busy doing
what it does best: assimilating superior technology.

When we first embarked on our latest in-depth

analysis, we worked with enterprise wireless network
managers, vendors, analysts and test-tool makers
Azimuth and VeriWave to develop a test plan that cov-
ered the full range of issues IT confronts, including
product architecture, security, deployment, manage-
ment, performance and cost. We asked for a significant
commitment from vendors in both equipment and
support staff. Of the 17 invited to participate, only
two—Cisco and Bluesocket—took us up on our offer.
Although excuses ran the gamut from a lack of inter-
nal resources to concerns that our test plan was too
complex, not to mention a little too risky in light of
the test platforms’ relative immaturity, we concluded
that most enterprise WLAN vendors don’t want to par-
ticipate in in-depth product reviews unless they can
write the test plan.

Cisco’s decision to buck that trend is notable

because it has the most to lose from a critical review.