Before we hurry on to 2016, we’d like to tell you about some of the biggest achievements our Laminar team have enjoyed in 2015, and then we’ll talk about what we expect to see trending in the networking world in 2016.

Firstly, we’re very proud of the first high-density wireless-only office building. We completed this installation for a large government department in Canberra. It was a very bold move on behalf of the CIO who, in doing so, was able to save considerable funds with no cabling needed for the 2200 employees.

The early adopters of the 802.11AC wireless installations have been progressing their networks with the implementation of multiple wireless networks over one infrastructure. So the one infrastructure is not only handling the one normal network, but also operating different networks for things like guests, corporate, building management (heating or cooling for example) and security. There are a lot of exciting possibilities for businesses using these multiple-overlay techniques. We have been implementing solutions with 3 or 4 5GHz radios per room to support this.

2015 has also seen considerable growth in internet security. Risks have become more sophisticated and complex, placing higher demand on skills for the operation of infrastructure. As the threats are becoming more complicated, more higher-end assistance has been needed to combat these threats, and our Laminar team has enjoyed the challenge of helping organisations handle these complexities.

SDN or Software defined Networking is now starting to play a part in modern networks and we are seeing the implementation of solutions based on this. It is not just for the likes of the “Google” data centres any more.

New applications for networking infrastructure is another 2015 trend that we will see increasing in 2016. Some of these applications include client or employee tracking for workplace health and safety.

Location services is another example, where businesses can track the movements of patrons, students or customers to gather wi-fi meta data for marketing purposes. For example, if someone stops to look at a pair of shoes in a retail environment the application can track this movement over the network and use the meta data to learn more about their subject.

In 2016 we expect to see a lot of what the early adopters have implemented, now taken up by the rest of the industry.

Please enjoy your holidays and we look forward to seeing you in 2016. HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

From Alan and the Laminar team