The advent of IIoT and Smart Cities accelerates the market growth.
Normally used to design Wi-Fi networks to provide adequate scope and ability for the devices and applications that an organization needs to use, Wi-Fi design tools are also used to identify network issues, detecting areas without sufficient coverage or capacity. The market for such tools is expected to increase significantly over the foreseeable future, as the worldwide Wi-Fi market is assessed to stretch to $33.6 Billion by 2020. The fast expansion of cell phones, tablets, portable applications and Industrial Internet of things (IIoT) is expanding the requirement for Wi-Fi design tools. The Wi-Fi design tool is used across financial services, retail, healthcare, government agencies, education and research, and has significant scope for growth particularly in the healthcare, financial services, and retail. The companies best positioned to capture the market opportunity include NETSCOUT, Ekahau, and iBwave, as they hold nearly 85% of the global market revenue.
Designing and deploying Wi-Fi are becoming more difficult because of the high demand for capacity. It is no longer possible to add capacity simply by adding more access points (APs) because they share the same spectrum. Companies must thus put more thoughts into designing and deployment of their Wi-Fi networks, which will fuel demand for Wi-Fi design and planning tools. In 2017, the total global Wi-Fi design tool market revenue was about $74.70 million; by 2022, the market is expected to reach $220 million, growing at a CAGR of 24.1% from 2017 to 2022.
The major growth driver for the global Wi-Fi design tools market is the increased usage of electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops, and tablets. The number of Internet-associated gadgets is expected to reach 33 billion, and every family will have 15 associated devices by 2020. These days, consumers typically only have 2 or 3 devices; for example, a cell phone, portable PC, and a tablet. In the coming years, the utilization of system information will be massive. This will put significant pressure on Wi-Fi. As the outline of Wi-Fi systems assumes a vital part of the limit and scope of systems, this factor is expected to be a solid driver for the Wi-Fi design tools market.
The proliferation of modern equipment in end-user industries such as healthcare also increases the need for proper planning and designing of Wi-Fi networks. Over the past few years, innovation has developed enormously, and the vast majority of the devices used as a part of the medicinal services industry are Wi-Fi empowered devices. These products are additionally used to get patient information. Hospitals are also providing Wi-Fi for both patients and visitors. This will bolster the growth of Wi-Fi design tool market especially in the healthcare.
The proliferation of smart cities is also expected to bolster the Wi-Fi design tool market, but it is still in a nascent stage. In the coming years there will be more development of smart cities and with the advent of IIoT the Wi-Fi design tool market expected to grow faster. Wi-Fi deployments in North America have been much higher than other regions hence the Wi-Fi design tools market is also larger in this region. Europe is the second largest market segment in the global Wi-Fi design tool market. The European market is anticipated to grow further in the coming years due to Industry 4.0. APAC is the region where the market grows most rapidly, especially in China and India owing to factors such as robust economic growth and increasing penetration of smartphones.
Although the future outlook for Wi-Fi design tools market looks bright, the growth forecast is dampened by customers not giving enough importance to the planning and designing of their Wi-Fi networks. Many customers think that getting a wireless connection is just about the placement of an access point. Despite the fact that numerous components should be considered including nature, most clients do not know or realize the importance of these aspects.
Every day, the number of devices continues to increase. Henceforth, the Wi-Fi network a customer designs today could no longer be adapted to user needs in a couple of months from now, because of the requirement for the scope and limit increments. Design tool providers must address this challenge to accelerate market growth. The Wi-Fi design tool market is in the nascent stage, but it offers a lot of opportunities in the coming years.
