Ripping Out The Wires

The gamut of wireless solutions now available in the enterprise has become a promised land for resellers and solution providers alike. In a recent VARBusiness survey, channel partners cited wireless opportunities as far and away the biggest source of optimism for growth in the coming year.

And a look at the landscape backs up resellers' eagerness to mine new wireless possibilities. Especially promising is the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) market, where solutions are finally taking hold in the enterprise. Sales of related technologies, such as WLAN security and network-management solutions, are also beginning to soar.

Historically, WLAN adoption rates have been dogged by significant security concerns, but new standardized security protocols and techniques have enterprises breathing a little easier. Adding to this comfort level is the plethora of options from wireless-security and network-management providers developed to strengthen the level of WLAN protection.

"The enterprise wireless market is just beginning to ripen," notes William Clark, research vice president at Gartner. "The types of resellers that stand to gain the most are the ones able to provide sophisticated, integrated packages, software expertise and help-desk support," he says, adding that providers relying exclusively on the resale of wireless devices won't fare nearly as well.

WLANs Come Into Their Own

WLANs were spun into play by advances in Wi-Fi technology and the IEEE's 1997 introduction of the first 802.11 wireless networking standard because both Wi-Fi and 802.11 underpin wireless LANs. Early on, however, 802.11 security models were vulnerable to security breaches and caused enterprises to be leery of the technology. Security fixes were slow to materialize and adoption rates further suffered, according to the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).

New encryption techniques, virtual private network (VPN) advances and the emergence of the IP Security set of protocols developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force have shifted the tide, notes a recent TIA report. "With reduced risk of security problems, more enterprises will install WLANs," states the report, which estimates that about 60 percent of corporations now use WLANs.

Using WLANs to provide mobile connectivity for employees remains the primary reason corporations adopt the technology. "Small to medium-sized companies that are growing and want to keep their employees flexible are using wireless technology instead of installing hard-wired connections to save money," says Glenn Brown, director of infrastructure and security at Norcross, Ga.-based Optimus Solutions, a Cisco Systems reseller.

Larger enterprises also benefit by using WLANs to let executives connect to corporate infrastructures from outlying conference rooms or other remote sites. Yet many corporations are beginning to demand more from wireless networks. "Over the next three to five years, we expect WLAN to grow as Voice over IP over Wi-Fi [known as VoFI] and other data applications take off," Gartner's Clark says.

Vendors report the same trends, observing that WLAN installations are getting bigger in order to accommodate those burgeoning applications.

"While only a handful of networks had 1,000 or more wireless access points (APs) a few years ago, today this is considered a moderate-sized WLAN. It's not uncommon for networks to expand to 10,000 or more access points," says Greg Murphy, COO of AirWave Wireless, a wireless network-management software vendor.

NEXT: A fundamental shift in WLAN technology is also firing up the market's growth.

Long dependent on fat access points that house the intelligence needed for communication, encryption and authentication, WLANs are moving like wildfire to a switched architecture. Major vendors offering switched WLAN options--such as Aruba Networks, Cisco Systems and Symbol Technologies-- now find themselves in the mix, according to TIA.

Advances in WLAN technology are increasing customer expectations. "Enterprises that have deployed wireless LANs are now looking for innovative ways to use these systems beyond wireless mobile access and network connectivity," says Michael Maggio, CEO of Newbury Networks, a provider of WLAN solutions.

WLAN channel players will become valued partners of the enterprise as WLAN use broadens, AirWave's Murphy predicts. "Wireless networks in the enterprise are becoming mission-critical, much more heavily utilized and significantly more complex," he says.

In addition to VoFI, some organizations are harnessing WLAN investments for asset tracking and content delivery, Maggio says. "Organizations in data-intensive industries, such as financial services, health care and manufacturing, have invested heavily in the design of sophisticated WLANs to provide more mobility and evolve their network strategies," he says.

Safe And Sound

Despite this evolution, WLAN security concerns remain a factor. "For big opportunities, resellers need to look to where there is pain, and there's still pain around security," Gartner's Clark notes. "Those VARs that can sell security platform solutions that bundle hardware and software can help out those IT shops pulling out their hair over security."

Just as wireless-security methods have matured, so has the role of integrators now charged regularly with getting WLAN solutions to customers in various verticals. For example, Seattle, Wash.-based WatchGuard Technologies relies exclusively on channel partners to forge adoption of its Unified Threat Management solutions.

"We're a channel company, therefore our resellers play a very large role in reaching corporate buyers," says Heidi Holmes, WatchGuard's Global Channel marketing director.

Solution providers are also beginning to blur the lines between WLAN-security and network-management solutions. "We've always believed that management and security aren't separate and distinct issues, but two sides of the same coin. Without management, a wireless network simply can't be secure," AirWave's Murphy says.

Executives at Network Orange, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based AirWave reseller, agrees that it's become difficult to draw the boundary between WLAN management and security, which once required little more than monitoring nodes and squelching "rogue APs," or unauthorized back-door intruders that used to compromise WLANs.

"Today, it's not enough to provide a secure network. Instead, there's a need to provide CIOs with the visibility and network availability to ensure that operational risk guidelines are heeded," says Network Orange director of sales, Marcy Clapp.

Now that WLAN vendors and resellers have helped ease enterprise concerns around wireless networks, blending of wired and wireless strategies has become more routine.

"Whenever new enterprise networks are being developed, hybrid networks that combine wired and wireless technology are considered standard practice," says Tom Badders, director of wireless strategic development for Telos, an Ashburn, Va.-based WLAN provider. Telos maintains a small WLAN installation at a warehouse of sporting apparel giant FootLocker.

The WLAN challenge at this point involves constructing solutions tailored to specific customers in various sectors--a major VAR strength. "Typically resellers have both an existing relationship of trust with the corporation and the technical knowledge the customer needs," AirWave's Murphy says. Hence, his company and others are aggressively looking to expand partnerships with resellers.

NEXT: Interest in wireless middleware gains ground.

WLAN In the Middle

Along with increased WLAN sales, resellers are reporting a swift uptick of interest in wireless middleware, or software that serves as the glue between wireless networks and corporate workhorse applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM) efforts.

Specifically, there are more opportunities for VARs in enterprise efforts to build wireless applications with hooks into central applications residing on Sybase or IBM databases.

"Mobile middleware makes this a lot easier," says William Clark, research vice president at Gartner.

One example is iEnterprises' work with corporations looking to deploy CRM and other applications to wireless devices such as BlackBerrys. Called CRM on the Go, iEnterprises' wireless middleware is designed to jet timely corporate information to traveling executives.

"More companies are finding that they need to solve immediate wireless needs. The most fundamental is the ability to get corporate information, such as contacts, leads and opportunities, in the sales pipeline to those executives away from the office," says Phil Sheehy, iEnterprise vice president of wireless solutions.

A foray into the wireless-middleware market may be particularly appealing to resellers because the technology is sold through licensing fees. Thus, wireless middleware can provide a substantial, recurring revenue stream, especially for those that rely mostly on wireless hardware or software sales--typically one-time deals accompanied by only nominal support and upgrade fees, Sheehy says.

NEXT: Harnessing a world of gadgets.

Harnessing a World of Gadgets

Resellers shouldn't depend solely on the sale of personal devices but should focus on providing solution sets that fold devices in with support, service or inventory-management options, industry experts advise.

"Rather than selling bits and pieces, VARs need to focus on selling bundles," says William Clark, research vice president at Gartner.

Enterprises are also turning to VARs to help manage growing inventories of wireless devices spread across sprawling user bases.

"The deployment of multimedia handheld devices is forcing CIOs and IT departments to manage these devices as [if they were] corporate assets able to manipulate data in ways similar to the laptop/desktop environment," says David Brown, senior vice president of advanced wireless services at Plainfield, Ind.-based Brightpoint, a distributor of wireless products and services.

Another strategy for boosting margins around the sale of wireless devices is to specialize. For instance, exploring the ruggedized handheld market or distribution of specialty products such as smartphones and activation services can pay off, according to industry experts and vendor sources.

Specializing by sector is another way to boost revenue tied to the sale of wireless devices. Sectors rapidly adopting wireless devices include transportation, health care and retail.

"Hospitals implementing disaster-management programs are increasingly requiring the real-time exchange of information and data accuracy that only wireless technology can deliver," says Bill Dueger, vice president of channel sales for Hand Held Products, a distributor of wireless devices based in Skaneateles Falls, N.Y. The company has upped its use of resellers by 60 percent over the last three years.