Wireless networks have never been more critical to business. And yet, most WLAN solutions were built before smartphones, the modern cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and the latest wireless technologies even existed.
To give modern businesses a Wi-Fi solution that’s in sync with the digital era, Mist built the first AI-driven WLAN platform: the Mist Wireless LAN.
The Mist platform is the breakthrough, truly innovative approach to wireless that combines AI, machine learning, and data science with the latest cloud technologies. It delivers a smart, agile, and scalable solution that optimizes the wireless experience and brings insight into the network.
The Mist platform encompasses the following key elements.
Mist CloudMist combines AI automation with microservices agility.
- Delivers feature velocity with seamless upgrades that take minutes instead of months.
- Provides full programmability via open APIs for proactive automation.
- Adapts in real time to changes in user, device, and application behavior for predictable,
reliable Wi-Fi and accurate location services. - Monitors network trends in real time and sends alerts when service levels degrade.
- Makes recommendations for troubleshooting and proactive configuration changes.
Gartner has release two very good reports recently. It has been a while, but finally, the 2019 Magic Quadrant report for Wired/Wireless LAN is out. Gartner also released their wired/wireless buyer’s guide, or as they call it, The Critical Capabilities for Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure
Over the past three or four years, Juniper/Mist has risen in Gartner’s opinion and is now showing as a strong contender in the wired-wireless enterprise marketplace. It was not too long ago that many analysts, including Gartner, had essentially written Juniper off.
Through strong leadership and acquisition strategies, Juniper has re-built a very strong enterprise portfolio of wired and wireless access solutions to complement its market leading carrier/ISP product lines.
It is looking more and more like MIST wireless is becoming the outright leader in next generation wireless AI technologies. Mist’s artificial-intelligence-based wireless platform that makes Wi-Fi more predictable, reliable and measurable. Mist’s cloud-based system features an AI-driven virtual assistant called Marvis which brings patented dynamic packet capture and machine learning technology to automatically identify, adapt and fix network issues
I have included excerpts from the two recent Gartner’s reports. I hope that this information helps with your organization’s technology decision making.
If you have any questions, or would like to receive either of the full Gartner reports, please give Lanworks a call.
Magic Quadrant for Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure
Published 24 September 2019 – Gartner, Inc.
Figure 1. Magic Quadrant for the Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure
Juniper Networks (Mist Systems)
Juniper Networks is a public vendor based in Sunnyvale, California. In April 2019, Juniper acquired Mist Systems, which is based in Cupertino, California. The combined organization has a broad access layer portfolio that includes multigigabit EX switching (from Juniper Networks) and prestandards-based 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) with a third radio for spectrum monitoring and security threat detection (from Mist). The vendor also offers a patented 16-element BLE antenna array access points. The acquisition addresses Juniper’s lack of in-house Wi-Fi domain expertise and provides Mist with an established access layer switching portfolio.
The new organization is expanding on Mist’s historical market message of the “AI-driven enterprise” that has been gaining significant traction for the last two years in major enterprise access layer decisions. Mist’s cloud-native, microservices-based architecture provides guest access, network management and policy applications, as well as analytics, IoT segmentation, hybrid cloud and AI-driven behavioral analysis at scale. Organizations will need to assure that Juniper-Mist can effectively add the Juniper switching portfolio into the Mist architecture at the level needed to achieve the differentiation that Mist has been able to provide to the wireless community. This will include integration in terms of proactive operations and predictive recommendations to provide network assurance and automation.
Juniper was the No. 6 global campus switch vendor in 2018 but ranked below the top 10 in market share for enterprise WLAN equipment, according to Gartner figures. Juniper-Mist should be evaluated globally for all wired and wireless access layer opportunities.
