Aruba-Airwave: A subtle harbinger of change?

Last week's announcement that wireless LAN system maker Aruba intends to snap up WLAN management company Airwave Wireless for $37 million left me pondering future enterprise approaches to sourcing. If and when WLANs reach a par status with wired LANs, will the primary enterprise suppliers remain the traditional router/switch companies? Or will they shift to wireless-centric companies?

Conversely, will independent WLAN makers without wired network gear, telephony equipment and unified communications applications hold their own as convergence blurs network demarcation lines and requires unprecedented levels of interoperability?

There’s a reason that the Aruba-Airwave deal put me on this train of thought. Clearly, Aruba - the No. 3 enterprise market-share leader behind Cisco and Motorola/Symbol, according to Synergy Research Group - feels it must offer a value above and beyond a strong Wi-Fi architecture to penetrate Cisco accounts. Cisco’s Wi-Fi empire exists partly because of the many network components Cisco has long offered for its proverbial “end-to-end solution.” So perhaps wireless companies will begin offering more pieces of the network environment, too.

“We have not been able to sell into Cisco and Symbol accounts unless the customer has wanted a total replacement for existing WLANs,” acknowledged Michael Tennefoss, head of strategic marketing at Aruba. “Now, we have an entrée to make a presentation [into those shops.]”

Airwave makes a Wi-Fi management system that configures and manages fat and thin access points and WLAN controllers from multiple vendors. Tennefoss sees enterprises migrating transitionally to high-speed 802.11n over an interim period during which new and legacy equipment will co-exist and require such unified management. Aruba has long danced around the wired side of the network, too, with firewalls that work across the two network segments. And last year it bought Network Chemistry to add wireless intrusion detection to its network bundle.

Must WLAN makers embrace a greater portion of the enterprise environment to survive? Paul DeBeasi, senior analyst with the Burton Group, thinks so. He asserts: “I don’t think WLAN vendors can remain independent entities going forward. Long term, any of these independent companies, including Aruba, are subject to getting acquired.”