2020 had a concerted focus on the enablement of applications with AI, especially in the security and analytics areas.Īs the workplace splintered into WFH and hybrid environments, the security threat profile changed dramatically. The AI enablement of networking products has been rolling along as expected. The demands of home-based employees for higher bandwidth can more easily justify the small price in moving to the new technology. Where Wi-Fi 6 is growing, and will continue to grow, is on the consumer side, especially with WFH. Many offices are shuttered, and those that are still running often see lower employee density.ĭevice density, one of the greatest benefits of Wi-Fi 6, is in less demand in the new commercial real estate reality.
The shift to WFH has had a dramatic effect on commercial real estate. The transition to Wi-Fi 6 has been problematic for many businesses that began planning the migration for 2020 or 2021. We should expect today's changes to have a lasting effect on networking for years. Many WFH companies are finding fixed 5G as a solution to segment work systems from home systems and deliver internet to WFH employees who did not have previous broadband access. Government programs for 5G, like smart cities, came under pressure from the pandemic's unexpected and mounting healthcare costs.īut where 5G has gained a foothold - and will continue to grow in 2022 and beyond - is fixed 5G to the home. While carriers continued their 5G rollouts, many businesses that planned to migrate to 5G have stuck with 4G/LTE for now. 5G cellularīecause of the pandemic, the migration to 5G cellular changed significantly and not just because some oddball conspiracy theories suggested 5G caused the pandemic. With businesses becoming more distributed, they have accelerated their migration plans to SD-WAN because of the improved experience and security for their WFH workforce.
VPNs, which were often the point-to-point solution for remote workers, gave way to always-on SD-WAN appliances for many tasks as the network edge extended into employees' homes. WFH went from temporary to permanent for many companies, which redefined the network edge. SD-WAN has become far more critical as businesses shut down offices, driving either a hybrid work environment or a complete work-from-home (WFH) strategy. Let's take a look at these top networking technology trends and how they're shaping the industry. These technologies will continue to be critical areas of focus in 2022, primarily because they represent true technological advantages for businesses. In 2020, at the onset of the pandemic in the U.S., the key focus areas in networking were software-defined WAN (SD-WAN), 5G cellular, Wi-Fi 6, AI enablement and network automation.
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