WLAN market keeps on growing

Combined consumer and enterprise WLAN market hiked seven per cent in Q4 2014 according to IDC

Driven by strong figures in EMEA and Latin America, the global wireless LAN (WLAN) market saw steady growth for the last quarter of 2014, according to the latest figures from IDC.

The combined consumer and enterprise WLAN market segments grew by seven per cent, year over year, for Q4 2014. This growth was slightly down, however, from the same period in 2013, when the combined market grew by 11.5 per cent year over year.

The enterprise WLAN segment increased by 7.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014 from the same period last year, while the consumer WLAN market rose by 6.5 per cent year over year.

This overall growth was driven by strong performances in Latin America, where the WLAN market grew by 14.2 per cent year over year in Q4, while in EMEA the market grew by 9.4 per cent year over year, which marked its third quarter of consecutive solid growth.

Petr Jirovsky, research manager of worldwide networking trackers at IDC, said he expected to see a continuation of steady growth.

"With the exception of Japan, the fourth quarter saw even growth across the regions compared with previous quarters. As 802.11ac adoption rises, especially with Wave 2 on the horizon, the WLAN market should see sustained and steady growth across the regions over the next few years," he said.

Cisco maintained its lead in the enterprise segment, boasting a 48.4 per cent share, which was up from 48.3 per cent in the previous quarter of 2014. Aruba, which this week reached a deal to be acquired by HP for $3bn (£2bn), has an 11.8 per cent market share, up slightly from 11.5 per cent in Q3 2014.