This new Magic Quadrant, introduced in 2012, reflects the growing market demand for unified wired and wireless access solutions. As the appetite for mobility increases and bring you own device (BYOD) initiatives become more commonplace, enterprises are seeking unified offerings that can deliver a seamless experience to users regardless of how they connect to the network, while reducing the cost and inefficiencies of an overlay wired and wireless infrastructure.
Avaya’s Virtual Enterprise Network Architecture (VENA) offers an enterprise-wide virtualisation solution, which enables organisations to simplify the design and management of their networks, streamline the deployment of cloud-based services, and improve the delivery of always-on content and applications. Avaya VENA integrates with Avaya’s Ethernet switching portfolio, wireless products and security capabilities to provide enterprises with a complete unified access solution.
Gartner’s annual report evaluates vendors based on their ability to execute and their completeness of vision. According to the firm, “a vendor in the Visionaries quadrant has demonstrated the ability to increase the features in its offering to provide a unique and differentiated approach to the market. A Visionary will have innovated in one or more key area of access layer technologies (e.g., convergence, security, management or operational efficiency).”
Gartner reports that buying behaviour at the edge of the network is being influenced by three trends in 2012: increased mobility, limited IT resources and reduced IT budgets. Enterprises are deploying fewer switching ports at the edge of their networks as they “rightsize” their infrastructures and as growing mobility requirements change how they look at the edge. As a result of these changes, Gartner is seeing the emergence of a single buying decision for wired and wireless connectivity at the edge of the network among enterprises. For example, in a recent survey conducted by the firm, 76% of enterprises noted that a single IT resource was being used to manage these changes.
Marc Randall, senior vice president and general manager, Avaya Networking, commented “Enterprises build their networks with specific goals and applications in mind—whether that’s using video to create a more interactive learning environment in the classroom or supporting the latest technology at a hospital for better, faster diagnostics and patient care. At Avaya, we provide our customers with the solutions they need to accelerate collaboration, simplify mobility and deliver the functionality that users and businesses count on—wired, wirelessly and across the network.”