When are we going to see the full benefits of PoE+?

PoE+ has been around for a few years now and businesses are still yet to realise its potential. We can expect a new standard to take time to reach the mass market, but the main reason PoE+ hasn’t taken off yet is because the vendors promoting its benefits are also holding it back.

Today, most vendors offer PoE+ only on certain ports — rather than all ports — to save power. This compromise works for business with simple requirements, but doesn’t work for those with more complex environments who want to capitalise on the latest high-powered devices.

Resellers are now stuck between a rock and hard place. Vendor conservatism has forced resellers to scale back the offer of PoE+ to customers, settling instead for only a few devices that use the extra power on offer. The conservatism has also restricted resellers’ ability to expand their portfolio of devices and differentiate with the latest cameras, APs or VoIP systems.

But that’s not all. The compromise has also had a detrimental effect on encouraging new entrants to join the reseller market, like companies who currently may not specialise or offer networking equipment, particularly in the surveillance space. As the latest cameras now offer PoE and PoE+ connectivity options, the opportunity arises for these resellers to start offering the switches and equipment to support them.

So how can businesses and resellers be convinced of the benefits of the latest cameras and access points when they’re stuck with limited access to the technology needed to power them?

Resellers should start looking at vendors that offer PoE+ on all ports across their product range. The benefits are well documented and it’s time for businesses to realise the full potential of PoE+. That’s why at ZyXEL, all our latest products offer PoE+ on every port, as part of our intelligent power-management options.