End of AireOS Drives Innovation and Customer Opportunities – Cisco Blogs

I am sharing this announcement filled with nostalgia of a successful past for the Cisco AireOS WLC and excitement for the multibillion-dollar opportunity that comes with the End of Sale/Life announcement.

In 2005, the Cisco AireOS wireless controllers revolutionized the Wi-Fi industry with controller-based architecture. It propelled growth to a $6B industry today and made Cisco a dominant player with leading innovations like Cisco CleanAir technology, Flexible Radio Assignment (FRA), Application Visibility and Control, Software-Defined Access, and integration with Cisco DNA Spaces! 

For every ending, a new beginning awaits and the opportunities that lie ahead are equally spectacular. The next generation IOS XE-based Wi-Fi 6 solutions have numerous game-changing innovations focusing on customer’s top care-abouts: flexible cloud deployment, AI/ML intelligence and telemetry, programmability, and security, including wellness for the Future of Work. We already have more than 5,000 delighted Catalyst 9800 WLC customers with over 21,000 controllers, supporting millions of access point connections in deployment through our partners.

What’s in it for our partners?
A successful transition to the Catalyst 9800 WLC Controllers is instrumental for us to solidify market leadership and conquer the enormous $4B Wi-Fi 6 TAM, of which $1B is in controller hardware.
Secure your network edge control points now and upgrade your customers to our new Cisco Wi-Fi 6 platform. Highlight our latest innovations, lock out the competition and increase customer satisfaction by delivering new value with Cisco Secure Network Access for the campus and Cisco DNA for intent-based networking, all of which will help expand our partner’s profitability and services footprint. For example:

• More room to grow and differentiate by protecting their customer base with Catalyst 9800 WLC and Cisco Wi-Fi 6 Access Points and drive adoption of new innovations with Cisco DNA software: AI analytics, ML automation, zero-trust security, and location-based services and vertical solutions with Cisco DNA Spaces.
• More ways to profit, such as gaining greater customer spends with software selling motions: 4.1x greater spend on the Cisco Catalyst 9000 platform and wireless when customers adopt Cisco DNA Wireless Assurance, and 4.5x greater spend on the Cisco Catalyst 9000 platform and wireless when customers adopt Cisco SD-Access.
• For partners with a consulting or managed service practice, more opportunity to expand intent-based networking services like Wi-Fi consulting services using our gold standard location-based data and operational insights, or managed voice, video, and Wi-Fi services, and automation, security, and compliance services with the full Cisco intent-based architecture for wired and wireless, a.k.a. the full stack.
• Those with the integration capabilities can code, test, and market joint Wi-Fi solutions opportunity with the only open and programmable network, powered by Cisco IOS XE for both wired and wireless.

See what our partners are saying here. Our customers will look to our partners for help conquering unrelenting changes. Act now to empower your customers in capturing this transition.

1. Enable your account teams with installed base insights using the Cisco Ready for Partner
2. Share the Modernize Wireless and Modernize Switching sales campaigns. These 3-page pocket guides outline the steps to qualify customers and include sales and partner resources and incentives to maximize profitability and services insertion.

Happy selling!

Join the conversation on social media with these hashtags: #Cisco #rememberingAireOS #futureis9800 #catalystwifi6solutions

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