Morne Vermeulen, Engineering Lead at Redvine Networks:
For years, the networking conversation has been dominated by the WAN. SD-WAN, SASE, and cloud on-ramps have taken centre stage as enterprises worked to connect their branches, cloud workloads, and remote users more efficiently. Meanwhile, the LAN, i.e. the local network inside the branch or office, has been treated as a static, set-and-forget layer.
That mindset is changing.
Across our customer base, we are seeing the same pattern: once the WAN is modernised and visibility gaps are closed, the next bottleneck emerges inside the branch. It is the LAN, the Wi-Fi access points, switches, and edge devices where performance issues, security risks, and user experience breakdowns are now hiding.
Transforming the environment
This shift is being driven by an explosion in connected devices, hybrid work models that put new pressure on branch networks, and the rise of IoT in everyday business operations.
The market has responded with a new generation of intelligent LAN solutions. Juniper’s MIST platform is one example. It is not just about faster Wi-Fi but about applying AI to the network edge. From real-time insights into which device is struggling on which AP, to proactive remediation before the helpdesk ticket is even raised, AI-driven LAN is flipping the support model on its head.
LAN issues used to be something you discovered hours or days later when a user complained. Now, with AI-driven visibility, you can see the problem the moment it happens and often fix it before the user even notices.
The benefits go beyond troubleshooting. MIST’s AI capabilities allow for automated optimisation, adjusting channel assignments, balancing load between APs, and improving roaming behaviour without manual intervention. This goes beyond convenience to introduce operational efficiency that frees IT teams to focus on strategic projects instead of firefighting.
Single pane of glass
In Africa, where our projects often span hundreds of sites in challenging conditions, the ability to manage both WAN and LAN from a single pane of glass is transformative. For example, when we deploy SD-WAN with LTE failover to remote sites, we can now integrate LAN intelligence into the same monitoring and support model. That means a bank in Kenya or a retailer in Namibia can have the same proactive LAN oversight as a corporate HQ in Johannesburg or Paris.
The global trend is clear. Networking is converging. WAN and LAN can no longer be treated as separate silos with different management stacks and different data sets. By unifying them and adding AI into the mix, enterprises can achieve true end-to-end visibility and control.
For IT teams, this convergence delivers:
• Predictive maintenance: Using historical data to flag weak links before they fail.
• User experience as a measurable metric: With quantifiable service levels tied to actual device performance.
Vendors are repositioning around this shift. Juniper’s acquisition of MIST was a signal that the LAN was going to be an AI battleground. Cisco has made similar plays. For customers, the opportunity is to stop thinking of LAN upgrades as just another hardware refresh and instead view them as a strategic layer in digital transformation.
A new story
For Redvine, the appeal is in the combined story. We are already delivering provider-neutral SD-WAN and SASE for customers who want visibility, choice, and control. Adding AI-driven LAN into that model means we can take the same transparency, intelligence, and neutrality all the way to the edge of the branch.
Five years ago, a CIO might have asked us to fix their MPLS costs or help them move to the cloud. Today, they are just as likely to ask how we can help them measure and improve Wi-Fi performance in their branches. The conversation has moved.
The LAN is no longer the forgotten layer. For enterprises that want to truly modernise their networks, it is the next frontier, and the smartest investments will be the ones that combine AI-driven LAN intelligence with the agility and visibility of a modern WAN.