Cisco expands wireless LAN portfolio

Wireless networks have become a quintessential component for businesses, providing much more than basic connectivity. With the increasing adoption of 802.11ac, organizations have come to realize that wireless networks can have a major impact on business outcomes, and can change the way businesses interact with their customers, enable innovative business services and empower employees to be more agile.

According to Cisco’s 2014 Mobile Visual Networking Index (VNI), global mobile data traffic grew 81 percent in 2013 to reach 1.5 exabytes per month. With continued growth expected, IT professionals have an opportunity to use new wireless technologies to provide employees and customers with better applications, services and experiences.

Cisco introduced an addition to its 802.11ac access point portfolio, supporting the next-generation Wi-Fi standard (802.11ac).

The 802.11ac-enabled Cisco Aironet 2700 Series Access Point will help partners seize huge mobility opportunities while enabling more customers to accelerate their path to Gigabit Wi-Fi. This is the foundation for a fast, dependable and secure WLAN infrastructure that can support the many mobile devices, apps and data running in high-density customer environments.

“Gigabit Wi-Fi is here to stay. The next generation of wireless technology – 802.11ac – is today’s hallmark in wireless standards, representing a significant advancement in solving bandwidth issues and providing fast speeds, adding real business value and outcomes,” said Sujai Hajela, senior vice president, Enterprise Networking Group at Cisco.

“As the industry leader in 802.11ac, Cisco is helping customers’ transition to this technology, while accelerating our partners’ ability to capture new revenue, increase margins and provide new services from the mobility opportunity,” Hajela added.