Enterprise networking is all about the software and hardware needed to communicate and work in an office, co-working space or any other type of business environment, such as going online, calling others, hosting online meetings and so on. Wired and wireless LAN infrastructure technologies are among the oldest and most established in the networking industry. Nowadays not only the software and hardware are of importance, but also the inter-related network management, analytics and security applications.
The amount of data involved is no small feat. That is why core integrations of AI and machine learning (ML) are becoming more and more important. According to Gartner®, they present the data points necessary to optimise the network in support of digital business requirements while also becoming a source of business-relevant data useful to I&O and business leadership.
There are several vendors that supply wired and wireless networking hardware and other related network software. Gartner® has created the Magic Quadrant™ for enterprise wired and wireless LAN infrastructure based on hardware (core capabilities of physical network elements) and software (network service applications that are cloud-, appliance, or virtual appliance-based). According to them, the strategic planning assumptions are:
- Network OPEX costs will rise by at least 15%, every year for the next five years, for 70% of enterprises for lack of a plan to mitigate network hardware supply chain issues.
- Over 90% of enterprises purchasing Wi-Fi 6e access points will realise no calculable return on investment until at least 2024 due to a lack of devices supporting the new standard.
We are proud to say that our partner Juniper Networks is positioned furthest in both ability to execute and completeness of vision.
Magic Quadrant™ Leaders
Three of our partners are leaders in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for enterprise wired and wireless LAN infrastructure. According to Gartner® leaders execute well against their current vision and are well-positioned for tomorrow.
Juniper Networks
We, as an Elite Plus partner of Juniper Networks, are happy to congratulate them on the best position in this Magic Quadrant™. Their vision on excellent customer experience and the extension of Mist AI across their portfolio, from client to cloud, has led to Juniper's placement in this quadrant.
Juniper Networks AI-driven enterprise offerings include EX Series switches, QFX Series switches and Juniper Mist access points. This addresses most use cases across large-enterprise and MSE markets.
When it comes to wired & wireless access, Juniper Mist is in the driver’s seat
For the third year in a row, Juniper Networks is a Leader in the 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure. Moreover, for the second year straight, Juniper is positioned both furthest in “completeness of vision” and highest in “ability to execute” across all vendors evaluated.
According to a recent 650 group market report, Juniper Networks is the fastest-growing enterprise and outdoor wireless LAN vendor. In addition, Juniper recently announced its fifth-consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth, with Juniper’s AI-driven Enterprise solutions significantly outpacing the market with record bookings for both wired and wireless access.
Sudheer Matta, Group Vice President of Product Management for the AI-driven Enterprise said it best: “By delivering innovative client-to-cloud automation, insight and self-driving actions, Mist AI continues to stand out from the rest of the industry for ease, scale, cost and performance. The durable momentum we are seeing is a true testament to our world-class product, sales and marketing teams, along with partners who have all rallied behind Juniper’s innovative AI-driven enterprise solution. Together, we are bringing proven value to customers and partners throughout the globe.”
Good score for Juniper in Gartner® Peer Insights™
Next to this, Juniper was recognised as a Customers’ Choice for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure in the 2022 Gartner® Peer Insights™ Voice of the Customer report (May 31, 2022). The Gartner® Peer Insights™ is a peer review and ratings platform designed for enterprise software and services decision-makers. Juniper received an overall customer rating of 4.9 out of 5, based on 130 reviews, with 99 percent of respondents saying they are willing to recommend the solution (the highest of any vendor).
More partners that are Magic Quadrant™ Leaders
HPE (Aruba)
HPE, or better known as Aruba, is a leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for the 17th time in a row. Their portfolio includes LAN and WLAN products, including its Aruba CX line of switches, and 500 and 600 Series Wi-Fi 6/6e access points. Wired and wireless networking is managed primarily through Aruba Central. They want to continue in investing feature parity between cloud and on-premises offerings, and increasing AIOps functionality in its Aruba Central platform. Aruba has announced that NaaS will become an important part of its go-to-market strategy.
Cisco
Our partner Cisco is another leader in the enterprise wired and wireless LAN infrastructure Magic Quadrant™. With their Catalyst and Meraki products, they address most large and SME use cases. They continue to invest in the capabilities of their DNA Center, an on-premises network management and orchestration platform, which is inclusive of its software-defined architecture (SDA). In June 2022, Cisco announced monitoring and limited configuration capabilities of its Catalyst portfolio with Meraki Dashboard. Therefore, they will be investing in increasing functionalities, achieving use-case parity and delivering experience consistency across the two portfolios.
Huawei
Huawei has become a Leader for the first time in this Magic Quadrant™. This is largely due to strong market execution. They address most MSE and large enterprise network use cases with their CloudEngine S Series switches in addition to their AirEngine wireless APs. Huawei delivers a unified AI/ML-enabled cloud management platform via its CloudCampus 3.0 solution. According to Gartner, they will most likely continue to invest in AI and ML functionalities, in addition to automation and network orchestration capabilities across its portfolio.
Magic Quadrant™ Visionaries
Two of our partners are visionaries in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for enterprise wired and wireless LAN infrastructure. According to Gartner® visionaries understand where the market is going or have a vision for changing market rules, but do not yet execute well.
Fortinet
Fortinet is a Visionary in this Magic Quadrant™. They provide tight integration between their FortiAP and FortiSwitch products with its FortiGate security appliance. This enables Fortinet to position network security and network fabric management as the core of its enterprise network market strategy. Fortinet continues to invest in AI and ML across its portfolio. This is highly wanted as this feature is almost absent except for the specific FortiAIOps module in Fortimanager.
Arista
Arista Networks is the second Visionary in this Magic Quadrant™. They deliver their 700 series leaf switches and 7000 series enterprise spine switches in addition to their Cognitive Wi-Fi 200 and 300 series access points and CloudVision management platform. Their client base is in the finance, high technology and healthcare industries. It is expected by Gartner® that Arista will continue to invest in its CloudVision network automation and have more integrated AI and ML capabilities.
About Gartner
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure, Mike Toussaint, Christian Canales, Tim Zimmerman, December 21, 2022.
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