Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure

How does Gartner define the Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure market in 2025?

Gartner defines the enterprise wired and wireless LAN infrastructure market as the hardware and software that enables local connectivity for users and devices. The infrastructure components include enterprise-class wired switches and wireless access points, and the management software that secures, manages, tests, optimizes and automates the network. Organizations across vertical markets rely on enterprise wired and wireless network infrastructures to connect and transmit data for both fixed and mobile devices, enabling end users to access applications that are located either on-site, in remote private or public destinations.

Key Facts for Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure in 2025

Publication Date: 25 June 2025

Document ID: G00812899

Coverage: Global

Authors: Mike Leibovitz, Christian Canales

Core Purpose: To help infrastructure and operations leaders make investment decisions across campus, branch and remote locations for enterprise wired and wireless LAN infrastructure as demand grows for AI networking, network as a service, and automated adaptive security.

Strategic Planning Assumptions

By 2028, 35% of enterprises will use artificial intelligence to improve network operations and resilience, up from fewer than 10% in 2025

By 2028, on-premises campus network as a service (NaaS) will be adopted by 15% of all enterprises, up from fewer than 2% in 2025

By 2029, 20% of enterprises will replace network access control (NAC) and/or embedded switching security features with zero-trust network access (ZTNA) on corporate-owned campus LANs, compared with fewer than 2% in early 2025

How was the Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure market evolved in 2025?

The enterprise wired and wireless LAN infrastructure market includes hardware and software that enables local connectivity for users and devices

Components include enterprise-class wired switches, wireless access points, and management software that secures, manages, tests, optimizes and automates the network

The need to reduce manual work is driving demand for AI networking and network as a service

Demand for automated and adaptive security is growing across campus, branch and remote locations

Enterprise wired LAN revenue fell by 22% in 2024, contrasting with 20% growth in 2023

Enterprise wireless LAN market saw a 12% decline in revenue in 2024

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) dominated AP shipments with 72%, followed by Wi-Fi 6E at 8% and Wi-Fi 7 at 4%

Overall enterprise network equipment market experienced a 3.1% decline in 2024

The market is shifting from hardware-centric decisions to software capabilities for proactive management and optimization

There is growing focus on zero-trust principles and unified secure access across corporate sites, branch offices and hybrid work environments

NaaS (Network as a Service) consumption models are gaining traction

AI-driven autonomous networking capabilities are becoming essential for self-management and optimization

What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?

Discovery, identification, security, management and segmentation of Internet of Things (IoT) and operational technology (OT) devices

Design and planning for network infrastructure requirements

Implement zero-touch provisioning for deployment and configuration of the network infrastructure devices

Offer support, testing and maintenance for network infrastructure components

Establish a resilient infrastructure to withstand disruptions and provide continuous operations

Implement robust security measures to safeguard the network infrastructure

Scalability and flexibility for efficient management and control plane communication processes

Provides a no-touch or low-touch environment for operations on Day 2

Ethernet network switches suitable for deployment at the network access, distribution and core network layers

What are the common features of top products in the Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure space?

IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi-certified access points that support a combination of 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz radios

Network management application provided in the vendor's cloud or available for local deployment on a physical or virtual appliance

Network management application that securely connects to the infrastructure for administration

Telemetry data generated by the wired and wireless infrastructure for optimization, troubleshooting and issue resolution

Campus network fabric for user and device isolation, microsegmentation and application control

Security application for user and device authentication and authorization

Security application for creating and enforcing security policies

Wired switches equipped with Power over Ethernet (PoE) with standard PoE, PoE+, PoE++

Wired switches equipped with multigigabit access ports up to 10 Gbps, and uplink ports up to 100 Gbps

Wireless access points for indoor and outdoor environments, and optional external antennas

Wireless access points equipped with single or dual Ethernet ports capable of multigigabit speeds

Wireless access points that can support IoT devices that are physically connected (USB) or wirelessly connected (i.e., BLE)

Wired and wireless hardware capable of MACSec support

Wired and wireless hardware capable of campus fabric protocols (i.e., EVPN/VXLAN)

Configuration of network infrastructure with automated zero-touch provisioning (ZTP)

Network infrastructure configuration management: backup, restore and detection of configuration drift

Performance monitoring and analytics for end users and applications they use on their devices

Collection of telemetry data for AI- and ML-driven network assurance tools that troubleshoot and optimize the network

Network AI assistants that provide natural language interfaces for configuration and troubleshooting tasks

Application and behavior monitoring analytics, such as user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA), with the network security policy to facilitate appropriate action taking

Collection of locationing telemetry data from the infrastructure to provide indoor location services

Capability to manage legacy third-party switches and access points through exported APIs, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and other methods

Integration with IT service management (ITSM) applications, including ticketing systems

Provides a mechanism for onboarding/offloading from public or private mobile networks (i.e., Passpoint, OpenRoaming)

Provides a guest access portal that directs guests outside of the firewall for internet connectivity

Provides onboarding and adaptive controls to apply zero-trust principles to all connected users and devices

Provides the discovery, identification, security and management of nonuser devices (IoT/operational technology [OT])

Provides a campus network fabric that establishes dedicated communication channels from the end-user connection to the intended destination. This fabric should seamlessly extend across third-party equipment (e.g., switches and access points) for microsegmentation capabilities

Subscription- or perpetual-based licensing options for each component of the wired and wireless network infrastructure

Consumption-based utility models that include the wired and wireless network infrastructure components, also known as network as a service (NaaS)

Inclusion Criteria

Vendors must, among other requirements:

Demonstrate relevance to Gartner clients in the enterprise wired and wireless networking market by offering an Ethernet switching and wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) hardware and associated campus network application portfolio that addresses at least two of the three network layers (core, access, and/or distribution) requirements

Produce or OEM networking products, including access points, switches (mechanical and/or virtual stackable wired networking) and, optionally, appliances for on-premises applications for general availability as of 31 December 2024

At least $200 million in annual revenue and have at least 200 customers OR at least $10 million in the 12 months from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, and 50% growth compared with the previous 12 months

Have customers in at least three of the following regions: APAC (including Japan), North America, Latin America and EMEA, with no more than 70% of annual revenue generated in any single region

Have a cloud- and on-premises-capable platform that provides network discovery, identification, configuration, security, management, monitoring and integrated network automation tools

Offer campus network applications which offer, at a minimum, device and user segmentation with specific remediation for guest users/devices and IoT devices

Ability to Execute — Relative Weighting

Product or Service - High

Overall Viability - Low

Sales Execution/Pricing - Medium

Market Responsiveness/Record - High

Marketing Execution - High

Customer Experience - Medium

Operations - NotRated

Completeness of Vision — Relative Weighting

Market Understanding - High

Marketing Strategy - Medium

Sales Strategy - Medium

Offering (Product) Strategy - High

Business Model - Low

Vertical/Industry Strategy - Medium

Innovation - High

Geographic Strategy - Low

FAQs

Q: What does this research cover?

A: This research covers the enterprise wired and wireless LAN infrastructure market, evaluating vendors that provide hardware (switches and wireless access points) and management software for campus, branch and remote locations. It assesses vendors on their current capabilities (Ability to Execute) and future vision (Completeness of Vision), focusing on areas like AI networking, autonomous operations, security features, campus fabric capabilities, and flexible deployment/consumption models including NaaS.

Q: Who should use this research?

A: Infrastructure and operations leaders should use this research to make informed investment decisions for enterprise LAN infrastructure across their organizations. It is particularly valuable for evaluating vendors when planning network upgrades or replacements, understanding market trends like AI networking and NaaS, comparing vendor capabilities in security and automation, and aligning network investments with business needs for hybrid work environments, zero-trust security, and reduced manual operations.

Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?

A: Vendors must offer enterprise-class wired switches and wireless access points with management software that provides: discovery, identification, security, management and segmentation of IoT and OT devices; zero-touch provisioning for deployment and configuration; support, testing and maintenance capabilities; resilient infrastructure for continuous operations; robust security measures; scalability and flexibility for management and control plane communications; and a no-touch or low-touch environment for Day 2 operations. Ethernet switches must be suitable for deployment at network access, distribution and core network layers.

Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?

Focus on adjacent markets such as point-to-point wireless WAN offerings, industrial/ruggedized LAN equipment, or Wi-Fi hot spot services rather than enterprise campus networking
Insufficient annual revenue (less than $200 million with fewer than 200 customers, or less than $10 million with less than 50% growth)
Limited geographic presence (fewer than three regions or more than 70% revenue concentration in a single region)
Lack of both cloud and on-premises capable management platform
Missing minimum device and user segmentation capabilities with remediation for guest users/devices and IoT devices
Products not generally available for purchase as of December 31, 2024
Insufficient client relevancy or market visibility among Gartner clients

Q: What differentiates Ability to Execute vs. Completeness of Vision?

A: Ability to Execute focuses on evaluating vendors' current capabilities and operational effectiveness in delivering wired and wireless LAN solutions. It emphasizes product quality, financial viability, sales effectiveness, market responsiveness, marketing reach, and customer experience. This dimension assesses how well vendors can meet current enterprise requirements and execute on their existing strategies. Completeness of Vision evaluates vendors' strategic direction and ability to influence and shape future market trends. It emphasizes market understanding, innovation potential, product strategy alignment with emerging needs, business model evolution, and ability to drive market transformation. This dimension focuses on forward-looking capabilities and whether vendors' planned innovations will disrupt the enterprise market and address evolving customer needs.

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