Global spending on enterprise wireless LAN (WLAN) solutions surged 10.6 percent year-over-year in Q1 2025, reaching $2.3 billion, according to IDC report. This growth continues the positive momentum from 2024, fueled by stabilizing supply chains and demand following the COVID-19-era disruptions.
Strategic investments in next-generation wireless technologies are central to this growth in the global enterprise WLAN market. Wi-Fi 6E, which utilizes the 6GHz spectrum to deliver higher throughput and reduced latency, accounted for nearly one-third (31.9 percent) of dependent access point revenues in Q1 2025, up from 27.7 percent a year earlier. Adoption of Wi-Fi 7 is also accelerating, representing 11.8 percent of revenues in the dependent AP segment, up from 10.2 percent in Q4 2024.
WLAN vendors are also leaning into artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based network management to optimize performance, enhance security, and reduce manual configuration. These AI-powered tools are playing a crucial role in addressing evolving enterprise needs, including hybrid work, IoT integration, and edge connectivity.
Regionally, the Americas led global growth with a 15.2 percent annual increase, driven largely by a 21.0 percent surge in the U.S. market. EMEA posted an 11.0 percent rise, while Asia Pacific saw a more modest 1.0 percent increase, with China experiencing a 4.2 percent year-over-year decline due to economic headwinds and slower infrastructure refresh cycles.
WLAN vendors
In the first quarter of 2025, Cisco led the enterprise WLAN market with $904.5 million in revenue, capturing 39.5 percent market share following a 4.6 percent year-over-year increase.
HPE Aruba Networking followed with $363.9 million in WLAN revenue and a 15.9 percent share, up 10.7 percent from the previous year.
Ubiquiti saw the highest growth among top WLAN vendors, with a 50.9 percent increase in revenue to $267.4 million, securing an 11.7 percent share.
Huawei’s revenue in WLAN business fell by 10.7 percent to $124.1 million, resulting in a 5.4 percent market share.
Juniper Networks posted a 21.9 percent increase in WLAN revenue to $120.9 million, accounting for 5.3 percent of the WLAN market.
Brandon Butler, senior research manager, Enterprise Networks, IDC, said: “The fundamentals of the enterprise WLAN market remain strong, however, with exciting innovations such as 6GHz Wi-Fi and AI-powered management capabilities continuing to power the next-generation of wireless connectivity.”
The continued reset of supply chains and inventories has allowed enterprises and vendors to refocus on long-term strategy, positioning WLAN technologies as foundational for digital transformation. With enterprise reliance on wireless infrastructure only set to deepen, especially in AI, automation, and real-time applications, WLAN spending is poised to remain on a strong upward trajectory.
InfotechLead.com News Desk
