Andrew Hickey

Cisco Systems on Wednesday detailed its plans to bring the WLAN into 2008 and said the new 802.11n Wi-Fi standard will be a major component of the wireless environment moving forward.

Chris Kozup, senior manager of mobile solutions marketing for San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco, said the WLAN is in a state of transition as 2007 draws to a close. Companies are looking to leverage more wireless technologies. And the environment is ripe for the picking, with Cisco estimating that only 15 percent to 20 percent of an average corporate floor plan has wireless coverage. That will surely grow come 2008.

"The sheer number of devices connecting to the wireless network is growing exponentially," Kozup said, noting that is one of the key drivers that will boost wireless deployments. IT is forced to respond to that influx of Wi-Fi enabled devices like the iPhone, laptops and other endpoints.

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