Enterprise WLAN Market Sees Moderate Growth in 1Q18

Enterprise WLAN Market Sees Moderate Growth in 1Q18
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The combined consumer and enterprise wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments decreased 1.3% year over year in the first quarter of 2018 (1Q18) with worldwide revenues of $2.24 billion, according to IDC.

The enterprise segment grew 5.5% year over year in 1Q18 to $1.31 billion. Enterprise WLAN growth held steady in 1Q18 after posting a 5.7% growth rate for the full year 2017. Demand for network refreshes, digital transformation (DX) initiatives, and the new ways businesses are engaging with customers via wireless networks are positive indicators for continued growth in 2018.

The 802.11ac standard now accounts for 83.2% of dependent access point unit shipments in the enterprise segment and 95.1% of dependent access point revenues. This marks 802.11n becoming obsolete in the enterprise and paves the way for the 802.11ax standard coming later this year and ramping up significantly next year.

Meanwhile, consumer WLAN market revenue decreased 9.3% in 1Q18, finishing at $938.6 million. In 1Q18, the 802.11ac standard accounted for 44.9% of shipments and 72.4% of revenue. 802.11ac remained a bright spot in the consumer WLAN segment in 1Q18 with revenues increasing 6.5% year over year and shipments increasing 28.9%.

From a geographic perspective, the enterprise WLAN market saw its strongest 1Q18 growth coming from the Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) (APeJ) region, which grew 15.9% year over year in 1Q18. Japan's market grew 43.4%. Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) also experienced strong growth, increasing 17.0% on an annualized basis in 1Q18. Other regions had mixed results. Western Europe's market increased 4.7% year over year and the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region grew revenue 5.1% during the same period.

Cisco's revenue increased 9.2% year over year in 1Q18. Their share was 44.9% in 1Q18. Aruba-HPE (excluding its OEM business and excluding H3C as of 2Q16) revenues fell 18.3% year over year in 1Q18. Aruba-HPE's market share stands at 12.6% in 1Q18, down from 16.2% in 1Q17. ARRIS/Ruckus performed very well in 1Q18 and grew 40.4% year over year and 10.4% sequentially and now accounts for 7.6% of the enterprise WLAN market. Ubiquiti recorded another quarter of strong growth in 1Q18, increasing 13.9% year over year. They accounted for 6.6% of the enterprise market in 1Q18, up from 6.1% in 1Q17. Huawei once again experienced very strong growth in 1Q18, increasing 18.7% over 1Q17, while claiming 4.1% market share.