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Back in December, our regular clear-cloud crowd offered their thoughts. As can be expected, the trends shaping the broader IT picture this year—cloud computing, XaaS, the influx of mobile devices and explosion of the app market—will largely determine the direction WiFi takes this year, as well. The following are three of the key developments expected from wireless technology in 2012 that will likely impact how IT organizations manage the network.

Gigabit Speed

Finalization of the 802.11ac standard is expected by the end of this year, with final Working Group approval in 2013. But just as with 802.11n we can expect to see draft standard products well in advance of final approval, which should hit around the fall of this year.

This is a real game changer: For the first time, wireless speeds will rival those of the desktop. Gigabit wireless means that more and more companies will choose not to run cables to the desk top in new construction. Of course, the corollary to this is that we’ll have more and faster wireless endpoints contending for bandwidth.

iPads, Fires, Nooks, iPods, Galaxys, smart phones, video cameras—they’re everywhere and soon they will all be fighting to consume the same bandwidth. And this is likely to have a profound effect on the way we design wireless networks. For example:

Cell size will become less important than device density.

Organizations will have to make sure that they have a sufficient network backbone to handle the increased traffic and throughput capabilities of the individual devices.

If the Access Points are providing gigabit traffic to the switch port, 10 gigabit backhaul from the edge switch may prove insufficient.

In addition, 802.11ac operates in the 5 GHz band, which may signal the abandonment of the 2.4 GHz band. However, its death has been predicted many times before—usually just before someone comes up with a new, creative use for the frequency band.

Of course, there are many client devices that operate only at 2.4 GHz, so expect to see multi-band access points (APs) that run 802.11n at 2.4 and 802.11ac at 5 GHz. In the higher band, you can expect to see wider channel bandwidths—up to 160 MHz versus the 40 MHz of 8021.11n and double the number of MIMO streams. There will also be multiuser MIMOs.

It sounds a little like mumbo jumbo but what it means to you is the ability to use wireless in more sophisticated ways like streaming HD video to multiple devices.

For an example of an organization taking advantage of 802.11ac, consider Broadcom. This maker of chipsets for network devices plans to incorporate 802.11ac into its automotive products to reduce weight and improve functionality. Backup cameras, for example will be made lighter without wire and will network endpoints so that they can serve multiple purposes.

Cloud-Managed WiFi

Not too many years ago the WiFi industry existed to support easy transport of bar code information. The wireless device read the bar code tag and sent the information back to a computer that stored inventory information. It was a simple task, but for companies like Walmart that mastered its capabilities for logistics and control it provided industry dominance.

Today WiFi networks do far more: They open and lock doors, allow physicians to examine patients half a world away, permit students to virtually experience real-time conditions on Mt. Everest, and much, much more. With these dramatically increased capabilities have come increased design and management complexities.

WiFi networks have become living ecosystems where a lot of things can go wrong. RF problems, network problems, structural changes, client issues—any of these can have a negative impact on the wireless network.

Manufacturers are doing their best to minimize the impact of these factors. Cisco, for instance, has introduced  clearair architecture to their AP lineup. With CleanAir, APs we can now detect RF interference in the air, and dynamically change the access points channels and power settings to mitigate the congestion.

That helps, but because of the increased complexities, many customers—particularly those managing remote locations—have started to outsource the management of their wireless networks. In these cloud-managed WiFi solutions, distributed wireless networks are centrally managed through either a public or private cloud model. The advantages include:

Lower staffing requirements

Faster and easier deployments

Quicker problem resolution

Pooled equipment spares.

In a cloud-managed model, WiFi expertise resides at a central location that monitors and administers the remote sites.

For an example of an organization that benefits from this model, look no further than your local fast-food chain. Most McDonald’s restaurants now provide WiFi, though the company can’t afford to have a wireless engineer in every location. So, they put one to two APs in every restaurant that are centrally managed through the cloud. This same solution works extremely well for several of our district-12 and healthcare customers who must support a campus environment.

WiFi as a Service

If you go to McDonald’s and the WiFi doesn’t work, it’s an inconvenience. In a hospital, non-working WiFi could cost a life. On a manufacturing floor, loss of the wireless network may disrupt an entire production facility.

To ensure continuity, some organizations that have adopted the cloud-managed model are going beyond it, and treating wireless as a utility. This scenario typically calls for the provider to supply the wireless network, including equipment and connectivity. The user organization then subscribes to the network much like they would to any utility.

Payment models can vary from area covered to number of APs to concurrent users allowed. In any case, it usually moves the WiFi network from the Capital to the Operating budget. User organizations can negotiate Service Level Agreements based on uptime, throughput or other critical factors.

WiFi as a utility is a model similar to cable TV. Customers for cable don’t want to put up their own satellites or dishes.; they just want the content. What goes on in the background to get the services to them isn’t important.

The same looks likely to become common for wireless: Customers will outsource the WiFi network and leave worries about bandwidth, reliability and client onboarding to their provider. Security, however, typically remains the province of the customer and will conform to their network security policies. Reports to the customer include AP usage, Internet Latency (from provider to customer) and channel utilization.

What are you doing to keep your organization’s wireless access user-friendly, secure and well managed? What questions do you have about the advancements outlined above? Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments below.