This article first appeared in UC Advanced Magazine issue #25.
Forty years since its inception in Taiwan, D-Link are providing the Unity to help businesses thrive.
As it passes its 40th anniversary, networking hardware leader D-Link continues to innovate with the launch of Nuclias Unity, a license-free, cloud-based platform that centrally manages wired and wireless infrastructure. Designed for scalability from SMBs to large enterprises, the platform empowers partners with zero-touch provisioning and proactive monitoring. Alongside this software evolution, D-Link remains focused on partner enablement and future-proofing its hardware, prioritising multi-gigabit technology, Wi-Fi 7, ultra-Power over Ethernet, AI diagnostics, and long-term growth.
At the end of every year, we’ll look up and find some ‘momentous’ occasions to either celebrate or analyse.
For the year 1986, the average person would be forgiven for describing it as ‘disastrous’. Whether it be the Space Shuttle Challenger, Chernobyl, or the appointment of Sir Alex Ferguson as manager of Manchester United, I think the vast majority would look back at the year as a year to forget.
At the headquarters of D-Link in Taipei, though, 1986 is a year to celebrate as one of the most recognisable names in networking hardware. Originally founded as Datex Systems, the company helped bring computer networking into homes and small businesses at a time when connecting multiple computers was still a specialist task.
Since then, D-Link has built its reputation by producing affordable and accessible networking equipment, ranging from Ethernet adapters and hubs in the late 1980s and 1990s to switches, routers, wireless access points, IP cameras and smart home devices.
Some of the most popular D-Link products have reflected major shifts in networking technology. In the 1990s, its DES-series Ethernet switches and network adapters helped businesses transition to faster local area networks. Today, D-Link has expanded into cloud-connected products and is also interested in mesh Wi-Fi systems, Wi-Fi 6 and 5G routers, industrial networking solutions, and AI-powered networking products.
“The approach to managing both wired and wireless devices, even across that last kind of eight or nine years, has shifted dramatically,” said Robert Jenkins, Channel Sales Manager at D-Link. “Everything was previously very siloed; you’d have maybe a physical wireless controller sat on the network, and then your switches might be managed physically via the serial port or using CLI or telnet down the line.
“Nuclias Unity applies those decades of combined hardware knowledge to manage both infrastructures under a single centralised cloud interface. We also have Nuclias Connect for customers that would prefer a hosted cloud approach, whether that be software or hardware driven, but that essentially gives our partners the flexibility and choice to adapt the solution to whatever best meets their customers’ needs.”
Bringing Everything Together
Closing in on a decade at D-Link, Jenkins is in a better position than most to comment on the way the company has changed recently, having been there for “about a quarter of the journey, which is quite impressive when I say it out loud”.
Coinciding with the anniversary, D-Link launched Nuclias Unity, a true cloud, license-free network management platform that provides a single pane of glass to configure, monitor, and troubleshoot its smart/managed switches and Wi‑Fi 6 and 7 access points across single or multi-site environments.
Aimed at SMBs through to large enterprises and the public sector, it supports partners and end users, with or without on-site IT, via zero-touch provisioning, cloud templates, bulk management, and proactive monitoring tools.
“We’ve gained a deep understanding of what our partners actually need from us as a vendor,” said Jenkins. “We pride ourselves on our ability to act as trusted advisors when our customers need us to. We’re always happy to jump on a call with end users who need reassurance that a solution is helping them meet their end goals.
“There’s a real need to be agile and open-minded in today’s market. The approach to connectivity is forever changing, and as a vendor, we need to ensure that we’re continuing to listen to our partners and taking on board what’s important to them.”
Always on Hand
According to Jenkins, the feedback they get from partners travels around the world, ultimately reaching the Taiwanese HQ to inform the features included in platforms like Nuclias Unity.
“We’ve been talking to our HQ about this platform for a long time, understanding what it needs to look like, what features it needs to have.
“When we look at the development of the platform and some of the features that it has, it’s been designed for those SMB, mid-market partners that we have worked closely with, but likewise, it has a lot of scalability.
“Our partners can grow alongside their customers while using the platform, and that for us is really important. It’s giving them access to the tools that they need today, but also some of the tools that they might need in the future as they grow.”
As part of enabling partners to grow and scale alongside their businesses, D-Link has made itself available to help partners, and in turn the end user, get the best out of the technology they provide.
“I would say that as times progressed, we’ve worked closely with the resellers and end users directly,” said Jenkins. “Where we’ve entered into markets where the installers, for example, might not be as technically experienced, CCTV installers, for example, they’re used to traditional coax but have shifted to IP surveillance.
“On the back of that, there’s obviously a huge opportunity around networking, but the reseller might not necessarily have the knowledge when they start to sell that to their customers. This is where we see partner enablement as a key aspect of success and of building a healthy channel business.
“There’s a need for us to continue upskilling our partner base, working directly with end users, being agile, and being flexible. A lot of it comes down to talking directly to the resellers, to the partners, to the end users, still utilising distribution and the value add that it does provide, but we absolutely have to put ourselves out there.”
Not Just AI
As they look for more opportunities in the future, Jenkins bucked a recent trend found in predictions and didn’t focus solely on artificial intelligence.
While D-Link will be layering AI into Nuclias Unity with Health AI Insights for end-to-end service, security, roaming, and infrastructure health, and an AI chatbot for conversational troubleshooting and configuration, Jenkins also has an eye on WiFi 7 as well as ever-increasing Power over Ethernet (PoE) demands.
“I think a lot of businesses are still kind of sounding out AI, and understanding how they can best utilise it to drive forward those commercial outcomes that they’re looking for,” said Jenkins
“From a hardware perspective, we see multi-gigabit as a huge area of investment. If you look at our roadmap and some of the products coming through, there’s a huge focus on multi-gigabit as the market shifts to Wi-Fi 7. In particular, there’s a need to deliver 5GB and 2.5GB via the ports.
“Likewise with ultra PoE, the demand for higher PoE budgets and higher PoE capabilities is there as the need for higher density access points and higher spec IP surveillance cameras, for example, come to market.
“Likewise, investment in Unity will continue. We see it as a huge opportunity to go out and capture more business and re-engage partners, and give them a new tool to get a larger share of the market.”
