After years of hype, wireless networking solutions are expected to see some actual significant growth this year in purchase orders, shipments and revenues, according to the latest report from VDC Research Group. Wireless networking product shipments overall will exceed 25% CAGR through 2015, details Tim Shea, senior analyst at VDC.
Research for its latest industrial networking report—highlighting the top 10 trends for the industrial networking solutions market in 2011—found that standards development, as well as improved technology (e.g., ISA 100 and WirelessHART) and security (e.g., mesh networking and WPA2) are removing some of the major barriers to wireless adoption and relieving security and reliability concerns that have traditionally stood in the way of wireless success.
"Standards development initiatives among a number of the primary automation suppliers, end users, OEMs and other relevant stakeholders is a major driving factor beyond the continued technical enhancements made in response to reliability and security concerns," Shea says.
According to survey respondents who use wireless networks, the family of 802.11 networks will play an increasingly dominant role as the technology improves and continues to edge out narrow-band proprietary networks. Wireless users indicated particularly strong future demand for 802.11n, ISA SP-100.11 and WirelessHART, Shea says. “Technical considerations aside, the reason for expected future demand resides primarily among the number and type of suppliers designing products for these networks, and the legacy presence as fieldbus derivatives,” he adds.
