IDC

Analysts across the board agree that 2011 will be the year when LTE (Long Term Evolution, latest standard in the mobile network technology), WiMAX and simpler flat network architectures will define networking in the enterprise.

Major trend across the sector

IDC analyst Jamie Jin said virtualisation will be a major trend across the sector, with the cost of networking for IT managers decreasing as a result.

"To address the challenges created by a virtualised server environment, network equipment vendors are introducing a simpler, flatter network architecture, which features virtual switches, unified fabric and virtual networking service appliances," Jin said.

Gartner's principal innovation analyst, Bjarne Munch, said during the cost of networking may so then be reduced this year, 2011 will nevertheless be a challenge for IT managers when it comes to networking.

"New technologies, just as LTE and WiMAX, and new products, just as the iPad, are emerging, now that's the easy part of the story. The complication that we are nevertheless experiencing is the convergence of research domains that used to be separate as so then as associated organisational domains that used to be separate."