Today, workforce demands more mobility. With mobility solutions, workforce can be more productive even when they are on the move. Employees want more flexible workplace and want to stay connected wherever they are.

Because of growing demands from employees for flexible workplace environments, IT departments are under pressure to incorporate Wi-Fi access and functionality into their set of network features. This trend will lead to an increase in demand for wireless access points (WAPs), according to In-Stat, an independent research firm.

WAPs have outpaced the Wi-Fi networking equipment market as a whole, In-Stat (News - Alert) said. WAP revenue increased over 30 percent year-over-year, compared to 19 percent for the overall WLAN market.  While this is robust growth in comparison, it is still unclear whether or not the enterprise market will fully embrace WLAN.

“Out of this opportunity, comes stiff competition. Industry giants such as Cisco (News - Alert) are facing increasing pressure from smaller companies that focus wholly on the WLAN,” said Brad Shaffer, research analyst at In-Stat. 

“Companies like Meru Networks are already taking small bites out of the traditional industry leaders’ portion of the pie. Meru has seen notable growth in WAP shipments and installed customer base,” Shaffer added. 

According to a recent press release from Meru Networks (News - Alert), Meru’s installed base increased nearly 50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 year-over-year. In-Stat estimates Meru Networks recorded a 19 percent growth in their WAP market share in 2010. The education and healthcare verticals will fuel Meru’s growth further.

Like any other emerging technology, WAP is also undergoing several innovations. These innovations are changing the entire architecture of a WAP deployment. Companies like AeroHive and Meraki Networks are giving access points enhanced hardware features and also moving the controller to the cloud.