The 2025 edition of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure has landed … and it’s anything but business as usual.
There’s been a lot of talk about the Gartner report recently but bear with us … we promise this is a different take on the subject.
Rather than focusing on Juniper’s outright win in this space, let’s look at how this is starting to signal a broader transformation in how enterprises will architect, secure, and scale their networks in the years ahead.
As enterprises reevaluate their networking strategies and technology roadmaps, the choice of implementation partner becomes as critical as the choice of technology.
This is where customers are reaching out to us here at Bechtle.
Our long-standing relationship with key vendors in the Gartner report, together with our reputation of integrity, innovation, and customer focus enables us to drive real change for our customers.
While the Gartner report highlights Juniper’s strength in innovation, AI-driven networking, and customer experience, it’s important to consider the ecosystem of partners that help customers truly unlock that value … this is where Bechtle plays a critical role.
With this in mind, lets take a look in more detail at the Gartner report …
A New Era of Innovation.
This year’s quadrant saw a dramatic reshuffling. Notably, three vendors dropped out of the Leaders quadrant, including Cisco.
While Cisco’s repositioning may be linked to its strategic pivot following the Splunk acquisition and its more general move to becoming more a security and software company than old-school ‘networking’, it also underscores a deeper truth: legacy dominance is no longer enough.
The market is rewarding agility, AI-native architectures, and customer-centric innovation.
Juniper Networks, Aruba (HPE), and Fortinet now occupy three of the four top-right positions, and each brings a unique strength to the table:
- Juniper continues to lead with its Mist AI platform, offering a self-healing, insight-driven network experience. Its dual leadership in both LAN and Indoor Location Services reflects a strategic alignment with smart campus and hybrid workplace trends
- Aruba remains strong despite acquisition-related uncertainty. Its ClearPass NAC and simplified NaaS offerings are helping to reassure customers and partners alike
- Fortinet is gaining ground with its security-first approach, integrating wired and wireless infrastructure with its renowned firewall capabilities.
The Rise of AI-Native Networking.
Gartner’s analysis highlights a growing demand for AI-driven automation and Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) models
This is more than a trend, enterprises are no longer just buying boxes. When we talk to our customers we’re typically talking about investing in outcomes such as reduced operational overhead, predictive analytics, or seamless user experiences.
This shift is particularly relevant for our customers in the public sector or education, where lean IT teams must deliver robust, scalable infrastructure. Where AI-native solutions like Juniper Mist are being positioned not just as technical upgrades, but as enablers of strategic goals such as visitor engagement and sustainability.
Talking to one of our Networking Consultants here at Bechtle it’s interesting to see how the conversations we’ve had with our customers over the years have morphed from talking about just ‘speed’ to now, ‘what does that mean for the user experience’. As a result, we and our customers need partners that excel in this space.
What Gartner Warns About Aruba and Juniper.
Both Aruba and Juniper earned top-right positions in the 2025 Magic Quadrant, and Gartner’s analysis includes important cautions that our customers and our Bechtle teams must take seriously.
However, as with everything in IT, nothing stays the same for long. With the recent updates from HPE’s Discover and their acquisition of Juniper a lot of the concerns raised by Gartner have now been addressed, or to some degree resolved.
Bechtle remain close to the market and our partners, so we can translate change into clarity and give our customers the expert guidance they need to move forward with confidence.
Aruba (HPE): Navigating Acquisition Uncertainty.
Gartner flags ongoing uncertainty stemming from HPE’s acquisition of Juniper Networks. While the deal promises long-term synergies, short-term concerns include:
- Product roadmap clarity: Customers are unsure how Aruba’s ClearPass, Central, and NaaS offerings will evolve post-merger.
- Channel conflict: Overlapping partner ecosystems between Aruba and Juniper may create confusion or competition.
- Support model shifts: Changes to support structures and SLAs could impact service continuity.
How Bechtle and Qolcom: A Bechtle Company mitigate this:
- Deep Aruba expertise: We have long-standing Aruba specialisations, including ClearPass and Central, and can provide continuity regardless of vendor-side changes.
- Transparent advisory: Our consultative approach helps customers navigate roadmap ambiguity with confidence, offering vendor-agnostic guidance when needed.
- Service wraparound: Bechtle’s managed services and our integration capabilities ensure that even if vendor support models shift, customer experience remains stable.
Juniper Networks: Scaling AI Without Complexity.
Juniper’s Mist AI platform continues to lead in innovation, but Gartner notes a few challenges:
- Complexity in large-scale deployments: While Mist AI excels in smaller environments, scaling across global campuses can introduce integration and tuning challenges.
- Limited third-party ecosystem: Compared to Cisco or HPE, Juniper’s ecosystem for third-party integrations is still maturing.
- Perceived premium pricing: Some customers view Juniper’s AI-native solutions as cost-prohibitive without clear ROI articulation.
How Bechtle and Qolcom: A Bechtle Company address this:
- Proven enterprise rollouts: We have delivered large-scale Juniper Mist deployments, including in public sector and education, with referenceable outcomes.
- Custom integration: Our engineering team bridges gaps in third-party tooling, while Bechtle’s vendor-neutral architecture approach ensures interoperability.
- ROI modelling: Our pre-sales teams use real-world data to model operational savings and performance gains, helping justify investment in AI-native infrastructure.
In summary, Gartner’s appraisal of Juniper Mist AI highlights critical areas of caution for organisations evaluating next-generation network technologies: the complexity associated with scaling, a still-maturing third-party integration ecosystem, and questions on pricing value. These concerns—framed prior to any major announcements around acquisitions—cast both a challenge and an opportunity for Juniper and its competitors. For Juniper, the future will hinge on simplifying large-scale deployments, expanding ecosystem partnerships, and articulating clear, demonstrable value for enterprise investment.
Meanwhile, HPE’s trajectory will be defined by its ability to leverage its broad portfolio and continue developing open, scalable solutions that appeal to a diverse, global customer base. As both technologies evolve, success will depend less on any single announcement and more on their sustained capacity for integration, innovation, and real-world impact.
The 2025 Magic Quadrant is a snapshot of a market in motion.
As AI, edge computing, and hybrid work continue to reshape enterprise priorities, the LAN is no longer just a utility, it’s a strategic asset.
Organisations that embrace this shift will move faster, operate smarter, and deliver better experiences for users and IT alike. Those that cling to legacy models may find themselves either left behind, or even worse, locked out of the future.
So, while the Gartner report will present you with a snapshot of the market as it is today, when it comes to choosing a vendor, shaping your IT strategy or creating your roadmap you’ll need a partner with the ecosystem and scale to deliver real value. A partner who is invested in your success every step of the way.
At Bechtle, we focus on building lasting relationships through integrity, continuous improvement, and innovation. Our teams work closely with customers to ensure our Networking solutions are not only implemented effectively but also deliver long-term value.
All while being committed to sustainable practices and creating a positive impact on both society and the environment. Bechtle are here to support our customers meet both their digital transformation and sustainability goals.
