E-Business
Cisco, HPE & Huawei Top 2017 2Q Growth in Worldwide Enterprise WLAN Market

The Second Quarter of 2017 consumer and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments grew by 2.5% year over year in the second quarter of 2017 (2Q17), finishing at $2.37 billion with Cisco, HPE and huawei leading the table.
According to results published in the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly WLAN Tracker, the enterprise segment grew 9.4% year over year in 2Q17 to reach $1.48 billion.
In the enterprise segment, annualized growth in 2Q17 was comparable to that of 2Q16, when year-over-year growth also registered at 9.4%
IDC believes that a steady stream of upgrades to the 802.11ac standard as part of the digital transformation (DX) of the enterprise contributed heavily to the 2Q17 growth.
The 802.11ac standard now accounts for 84.5% of dependent access point unit shipments and 92.1% of dependent access point revenues, up from 70.9% and 84.7% in 1Q17.
This significant sequential jump points to a continued trend of 802.11n obsolescence, which is expected to be nearly complete by the end of 2018.
Meanwhile, consumer WLAN market revenue decreased 7.2% on a year-over-year basis in 2Q17, finishing at $892.3 million.
In 2Q17, the 802.11ac standard accounted for just 32.3% of shipments and 62.8% of revenue in the consumer category.
802.11ac was a bright spot in the consumer WLAN segment in 2Q17, with revenues increasing 13.6% year over year and shipments increasing 36.2% over the same period.
“The enterprise WLAN market’s 2Q17 performance sends a strong message that this market is still in growth mode,” said Nolan Greene, senior research analyst, Network Infrastructure at IDC.
“WLAN is a critical enabler of end-to-end digital transformation strategies as wireless applications and devices continue to unlock new digital and business outcomes.”
From a geographic perspective, the enterprise WLAN market saw its strongest 2Q17 growth coming from the Middle East and Africa (MEA), which increased 33.2% year over year in 2Q17, following a 1Q17 where the region experienced flatness.
A 63.3% year-over-year upswing in the United Arab Emirates is the largest vector of this growth
.
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) experienced strong growth for a second consecutive quarter, increasing 19.8% on an annualized basis in 2Q17.
Standout performers in the region include Hungary (up 66.9% year over year) and Russia (up 42.1%).
Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan)(APeJ) saw another strong performance in 2Q17, increasing 17.6% year over year.
While most APeJ countries saw growth in 2Q17, Singapore and Thailand were most noteworthy (up 177.9% and 71.1% year over year, respectively).
Western Europe also delivered a robust performance, increasing 16.2% on a year-over-year basis in 2Q17, with Spain and Finland recording the highest country-level growth rates (up 46.2% and 34.8%, respectively).
Japan now has experienced four consecutive quarters of growth (up 15.5% in 2Q17), signaling a full turnaround of a multi-quarter decline trend that took place from 2014-2016.
The Americas experienced more moderate growth in 2Q17.
Latin America increased 1.3% on an annualized basis.
Argentina was a bright spot in the region, growing 47.6% year over year.
North America was essentially flat, rising 0.3% year over year in 2Q17 with a 4.4% increase in Canada and essentially flat growth in the United States.
“A continued uptick in 802.11ac shipments as the de facto global standard for some time to come powered strong growth across most regions,” said Petr Jirovsky, research manager, Worldwide Networking Trackers.
“Aside from the ongoing DX trends, the market will also be shaped by ongoing refresh cycles and regional economics.”
The Key Enterprise WLAN Vendor Updates are Cisco’s 2Q17 worldwide enterprise WLAN revenue increased 8.2% year over year in 2Q17.
Cisco’s worldwide market share came in at 43.2% in 2Q17, down from 43.4% in 1Q17, and 43.7% in 2Q16.
IDC believes that the Meraki cloud-managed WLAN portfolio remains one of the primary growth drivers for Cisco, offsetting declines in its traditional controller-based WLAN portfolio.
HPE-Aruba (excluding its OEM business and excluding H3C as of 2Q16) increased 28.8% year over year in 2Q17.
HPE-Aruba’s market share stands at 17.2% in 2Q17, up from 16.2% in 1Q17 and 14.6% in 2Q17.
Brocade-Ruckus declined 7.4% year over year in 2Q17, while growing 19.5% sequentially.
Brocade-Ruckus accounted for 5.8% of the overall market in 2Q17, up from 5.7% in 1Q17 and down from 6.8% in 2Q16.
Ubiquiti recorded another quarter of strong growth in 2Q17, increasing 37.1% year over year.
Ubiquiti accounted for 5.3% of the overall market in 2Q17, down from 6.1% in 1Q17 and 4.2% in 2Q16.
Huawei once again experienced very strong growth in 2Q17, increasing 111.6% over 2Q16, while claiming 4.5% market share, up from 2.3% in 2Q16.
E-Business
Kaspersky Warns of a New Phishing Technique Leveraging Bubble, a no-code AI Platform

Kaspersky has discovered a new phishing tactic used to evade traditional security controls that exploits Bubble, a platform that allows users to build web and mobile applications through a visual interface without writing code.

Attackers are increasingly adopting innovative tools designed for legitimate software development and repurposing them to boost phishing campaigns.
Traditional phishing attacks often rely on malicious links or obvious redirection techniques, which are typically flagged and blocked by modern security systems.
However, attackers are now leveraging Bubble’s no-code environment to generate intermediary web applications which are hosted on Bubble’s legitimate infrastructure and trusted domains such as *.bubble.io, which improves their credibility and helps them bypass security filters.
These applications function as disguised redirectors, silently forwarding victims to malicious credential-harvesting websites.
In the observed campaign, victims were ultimately redirected to a convincing imitation of a Microsoft login page, protected by a Cloudflare verification layer designed to further obscure malicious intent.
This technique is likely being integrated into broader phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platforms and phishing kits. These kits enable a wide range of malicious capabilities with ready-made tools, including real-time interception of session cookies, driving phishing campaigns through legitimate services such as Google Tasks and Google Forms, and carry out adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attacks that can bypass multi-factor authentication.
They also support the generation of phishing emails using AI, implement geo-filtering and anti-detection mechanisms to evade security crawlers and are often hosted on reputable cloud services like AWS to avoid blacklisting.
“The use of legitimate platforms like Bubble introduces a new level of trust abuse, making it harder for both users and automated systems to distinguish between safe and malicious content. This significantly increases the likelihood of credential theft, unauthorised access and potential data breaches,” comments Roman Dedenok, Anti-Spam Expert at Kaspersky.
E-Business
NITDA Takes Over National Digital Architecture System

Nigeria has taken a major step toward strengthening its digital governance framework as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) officially assumes control of the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) infrastructure.

The handover ceremony held in Abuja, marks the culmination of a high-level partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
This transition signals a shift from fragmented IT projects to a unified, disciplined approach to national digital investment.
The NGEA initiative forms a core part of the e-Government Masterplan 2.0 (Ne-GMP 2.0), aimed at establishing a unified and structured approach to managing government IT investments and digital resources.
The framework is designed to ensure that technology deployment across public institutions aligns with national priorities while improving efficiency and accountability.
With the system now operational, government agencies are expected to adopt more integrated digital processes, allowing seamless data sharing and interoperability.
This is anticipated to reduce duplication, strengthen risk management, and translate policy objectives into measurable digital outcomes.
Over the past two and a half years, Nigerian technical experts worked closely with their Korean counterparts to develop the architecture framework, create reference models, and execute pilot programmes in key institutions.
These include the National Identity Management Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and NITDA.
Officials say the NGEA represents a shift from fragmented digital efforts to a more coordinated, citizen-focused system.
The infrastructure is hosted by Galaxy Backbone Limited, providing a secure and reliable platform for nationwide deployment.
Looking ahead, NITDA is expected to work with government stakeholders to expand and sustain the system, while the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy will provide policy guidance to ensure its adoption across the country.
E-Business
FG Shifting Focus to “Meaningful Connectivity” to Drive Inclusion – Minister

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has said the government is shifting focus from expanding access to ensuring “meaningful connectivity” that drives economic growth and inclusion.

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy
The minister made the statement on Friday while addressing stakeholders at the inauguration of board members of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) in Abuja.
He said that although Nigeria had made significant progress since the introduction of GSM services, millions of people, particularly in rural and underserved communities, remain either unconnected or unable to fully benefit from digital services.
Dr Tijani highlighted ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, including plans to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic network and nearly 4,000 telecom towers nationwide.
He said initiatives under the USPF had improved access through projects such as rural connectivity and digital facilities in schools but stressed that the next phase must prioritise effective usage.
“It is not enough to connect a community. We must ensure that schools can teach with digital tools and that small businesses can access market opportunities,” he said, citing a pilot project in the Kura community where connectivity has enhanced access to communication, education and healthcare.
Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) also called for a shift towards meaningful connectivity, noting that while data usage had grown significantly, it remained concentrated in urban areas.
According to him, recent data shows that telecom usage has increased by about 160% over the past two years, largely driven by urban demand.
“When we drill down, we see that a lot of that growth is actually in urban centres. So, the gap between those who are not connected or not meaningfully connected is growing,” he said.
Dr Maida added that the trend underscored the need for the USPF board to intensify efforts to bridge both access and usage gaps across the country.
Both officials emphasised the importance of collaboration, sustainable investment models and improved digital literacy to ensure that connectivity translates into real economic benefits for Nigerians.
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