Juniper mist a bright spot amidst WLAN market carnage

According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, security, networks, and data center industries, Wireless LAN (WLAN) revenues plunged by 27 percent in 1Q 2024, as enterprises and distributors digested the large volume of WLAN equipment that was shipped a year ago.

“While most vendors had sharp contractions in WLAN revenues, Juniper was one of the few companies that expanded their sales on a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis,” said Siân Morgan, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group. “Enterprises may be insecure about equipment roadmaps because of the pending HPE-Juniper acquisition, but it doesn’t appear to be affecting Juniper Mist WLAN sales.

“The market downturn is also not preventing Huawei from aggressively positioning Wi-Fi 7. In 1Q 2024, the new APs represent a small fraction of overall sales, but Huawei’s focus on portfolio breadth and lower costs is going to mean a head-on battle for customer mindshare in CALA and EMEA,” continued Morgan.

Additional highlights from the 1Q 2024 Wireless LAN Quarterly Report:

• Most vendors experienced a sharp drop in sales, but three companies were notable outliers and managed to grow their WLAN revenues on a Y/Y basis.
• Dell’Oro Group’s outlook calls for another quarter of steep WLAN revenue reduction before the market begins to show signs of recovery.
• All macro regions contracted on a Y/Y basis, with North America experiencing the steepest reduction in revenues.
• The percent adoption of both Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 Indoor APs grew sequentially, as the industry waits for more Wi-Fi 7 announcements.

BCS Bureau