Security Still A Worry As WLANs Expand: Survey

The security of wireless LANs (WLANs) is the biggest factor inhibiting their growth in enterprises, but few large enterprises have suffered security breaches, according to a survey released Tuesday by JupiterResearch.

About half the companies responding to the survey said that security was the chief concern preventing growth of WLANs. However, about 84 percent of the companies that have deployed WLANs said they have not suffered from security breaches.

Increasing employee productivity -- and requests from end users -- are the primary reason companies are expanding their WLANs, the survey found.

"The primary driver behind deployments today is employee demand," Julie Ask, JupiterResearch's research director, said in a statement. "A majority of companies are also recognizing WLANs as a productivity tool for their employees and a more cost effective alternative to wired networks."

The survey also found that only six percent of mid-sized and large enterprises offer wireless access for 90 percent or more of their employees. However, about 22 percent of those enterprises said they'd offer access to 90 percent of their employees in 2005.Given those results, it wasn't surprising that budgets for WLAN expansion are growing, according to the survey.