The WiBUZ Manifesto for Managed WiFi: Seize Your “Android Moment” or Face Obsolescence

By Magnus Johansson, CEO & Co-Founder, WiBUZ

Preamble: A Gut Check

What if the next 18 months decide whether your MSP thrives—or becomes collateral damage in a vendor cage fight you never saw coming? That’s no exaggeration. The enterprise WiFi ecosystem is a powder keg—incumbent vendors (Ruckus, Meraki, Aruba, etc.) clinging to outdated playbooks, while MSPs drown in patchwork solutions, skyrocketing R&D, and impossible client demands.

We at WiBUZ haven’t just theorized about it—we’ve lived it. For nearly a decade, we powered 10 of the largest U.S. telcos from behind the scenes, unifying hardware, software, and entire tech stacks under one vendor-agnostic white-label umbrella - wibipOS.

Through our virtual operating system, wibipOS, we gave them the freedom we now champion in this manifesto. If you haven’t heard of us, it’s only because we operated quietly, letting Ruckus and others take credit while we built the actual operating system.

But now, we’re stepping forward with receipts: We know how to tear down vendor walls and slash R&D bloat because we’ve done it at scale, in the trenches.

Below is our manifesto, urging MSPs worldwide to embrace an open, vendor-agnostic, and API-first path to “good enough” WiFi freedom.

Once hardware is commoditized, lock-in strategies become toxic to innovation and your MSP’s survival. Buckle up. This is your moment to reclaim architectural sovereignty and ignite the disruption that Managed WiFi desperately needs.The Human Element: A Key Target

"Closed systems die by their own rules. wibipOS unites MSPs, equipment vendors, and solution providers to re-write them – openly, relentlessly, unstoppably."

Magnus Johansson, CEO & Co-Founder, WiBUZ

Core Principle I

Vendor Lock-In Isn’t Just Annoying—It’s Existential

A Maravedis survey of 65 MSP CEOs unmasked what many sense but rarely articulate:

• 72% feel trapped by a single Wi-Fi vendor’s roadmap

• 63% waste $250K+ a year duct-taping mismatched systems

• 37% can’t find talent fast enough for multi-vendor chaos

  
  

Translation? The average MSP bleeds time, money, and opportunities—all because big vendors cling to sustaining innovations, ignoring simpler, more transformative solutions. We say enough!

Our Stance

We reject the notion that MSPs must endure “my way or the highway.” Your brand—not the vendor’s—should dictate the hardware and software you use. We believe your top engineers should be innovating, not patching incompatible systems. We believe you deserve architectural sovereignty.

Core Principle II:

Enterprise WiFi Has Reached the “Good Enough” Stage

WiFi 6, 6E, and 7 are more than “good enough.” They already satisfy 95% of real-world needs. According to The Innovator’s Dilemma, once a disruptive technology hits “good enough,” there’s no reason to pay 6× for “premium” gear. Yet Cisco, Ruckus, and Aruba circle the wagons—milking high-margin enterprise customers while MSPs remain locked out of a truly open, multi-vendor universe.

Maximize your MSPs market reach with:

• Flexible Vendor Choice for Every Segment: Expand effortlessly from luxury to budget markets within a vertical.

• Streamlined Expansion Process: Reuse existing deployment and automation, making growth in each segment fast and efficient.

• Unified, Scalable Management Across All Segments: Manage every deployment from one interface, reducing operational complexity as you grow.

Our Stance

We declare that WiFi hardware is commoditized for most use cases, from luxury MDUs to low-income housing. The question is no longer performance but choice. When performance no longer justifies a proprietary markup, all that remains is vendor FUD. We say: let them keep their moat. We’ll sail right around it.

Core Principle III:

The “Android Moment” for Managed WiFi Is Inevitable

Ruckus once embraced wibipOS, reselling a white-labeled version to telcos like AT&T, Frontier, Cox, and Verizon, all demanding freedom from closed ecosystems. We unified Ruckus’s entire tech stack—customer care to NOC, ticketing, deployment automation—plus Meraki switches, Fortinet firewalls, IoT, even private 4G/5G. This collaborative approach fueled 10+ telcos and millions of devices.

"By integrating Ruckus end-to-end solutions with wibipOS’s white-label digital experience, we unlocked the flexibility, control, adaptability, and branding our Service Providers needed."

Jay Bestermann – Managed Services Executive.

But in early 2025, Ruckus abruptly pulled the plug—blinded by debt, declining revenues, and that lucrative enterprise licensing model.

Thousands of business customers got stranded with an end-of-life product. The vendor that once championed open frameworks pivoted to “sustaining innovations,” leaving MSPs to fend for themselves. Yet wibipOS survived, and we now unleash it directly to MSPs—no vendor middlemen.

Our Stance

Every MSP has the right to unify Ruckus, Meraki, OpenWiFi, or whichever hardware best fits—under their own brand. The “Android moment” is here; incumbents hoping to bury it will lose. Those who adapt reap the rewards.

Core Principle IIII:

An API-First, “CUPS-Like” Architecture Is the Key

In 3GPP mobile networks, CUPS (Control/User Plane Separation) revolutionized carrier-scale data handling by decoupling the control plane from the user plane. WiFi has no official “CUPS,” but wibipOS effectively bridges that gap—right now, not in some distant future. Here’s how:

1. Harmonizing Each Vendor’s Proprietary Controller API: wibipOS ingests Ruckus, Meraki, TIP OpenWiFi—whatever proprietary controllers you bring—and normalizes them into a single orchestration layer.

2. Automatically Mapping Advanced Capabilities: Whether it’s Meraki’s analytics, Ruckus’s beamforming, or specialized IoT flows, wibipOS detects those features and exposes them in your multi-tenant console—no forced lowest common denominator, no lost feature sets.

3. Unifying the “Control Plane” So Hardware Choice Is Yours: Because wibipOS effectively decouples hardware from the control logic, MSPs can pick whichever AP suits each site without rewriting code or losing performance. This is vendor-agnostic freedom minus vendor lock-in.

Why It Matters: By treating the control layer as a decoupled service, we deliver a truly CUPS-like Wi—Fi experience—no forklift upgrades, no forced brand allegiances. Your brand remains front and center, while the hardware becomes an interchangeable asset. MSPs can swap in cheaper OpenWiFi APs where budgets demand it or premium enterprise APs for specialized niches—all under one consistent interface.

Our Stance

We affirm that an API-first, CUPS-like framework is the foundation for multi-vendor freedom in WiFi. MSPs shouldn’t spend a fortune each time a vendor breaks or “updates” an endpoint.

The core pillars of wibipOS:

• Vendor-Neutral Platform: Choose the best vendor for each use case, with no restrictions.

• Unified Multi-Tenant Interface: MSP, vertical, end-user—all managed through one pane of glass, keeping everything efficient and streamlined

• Modular API First Architecture: Connectivity and third-party integrations made easy—flexible and future-readyLive SDK: On-demand R&D experts embedded in your workflow—innovate without the overhead.

The skill gap is real. That’s why we have the Live SDK team handle the grunt work. They integrate the old and the new, so you can focus on building revenue and delivering new services, not babysitting vendor APIs.

This is how we unify advanced features without giving up choice, unlocking a vendor-agnostic “control plane” that serves you—not the other way around.

Core Principle V:

The Flywheel Effect of Co-Opetition

Every new integration or feature that enters wibipOS’s Builders’ Universe benefits everyone. This flywheel effect boosts innovation, trims costs, and accelerates time to market. While legacy vendors push “all or nothing,” we embrace co-opetition—your success spawns modules another MSP can adapt, triggering endless synergy.

Case in Point

When Jamaica’s government needed WiFi in 346 schools within 90 days—or risk losing an EU grant—they didn’t call Cisco or Aruba. Instead, they turned to MS-TECH, a small IT MSP with zero managed WiFi experience. Why? MS-TECH had joined our 2024 Early Accelerator Program, adopting wibipOS to seamlessly unify Ruckus APs, ActionTec’s OpenWiFi hardware, NetExperience’s controller, OpenLan switches, and Fortinet firewalls under a single, branded interface. The result?

• 50% faster deployment

• 40% cost savings

• Awarded Phase 2 contract for 700+ additional schools

A traditional, one-vendor-fits-all approach would have prevented that breakneck timeline and massive savings. Instead, MS-TECH cut months of dev time by leveraging modules already in the Builders’ Universe (like Ruckus and Fortinet integrations) and adding new ones for ActionTec OpenWiFi and NetExperience.

"The speed of deployment and ability to work with multiple hardware vendors were absolute game-changers for us."

– Julian Edwards, Head of Operations, MsTECH

The government of Jamaica gained a flexible, future-proof network, while MS-TECH catapulted from IT novice to nationwide WiFi provider—all thanks to co-opetition and the flywheel effect of wibipOS.

"NetExperience, a TIP OpenWiFi AP Management and Controller platform, joined the wibipOS universe seamlessly through its API-first approach. The Live SDK Team rapidly unified MsTECH’s tech stack, incl. Ruckus and us, under a Single Pane of Glass."

– Huw Rees, VP of Business Development, NetExperience

Our Stance

We believe co-opetition is the only way to accelerate true innovation in Managed WiFi. By making each new module, feature, or integration available to all, we break the cycle of vendor lock-in and exponential R&D costs. If one MSP integrates an IoT payment gateway, another can instantly adopt it—fueling a self-reinforcing flywheel that lifts everyone’s capabilities and slashes deployment timelines.

That’s why we’ve built the Builders’ Universe and champion wibipOS as the universal stage—no more “all or nothing,” just a dynamic, ever-expanding ecosystem where every MSP can freely pick their next advantage.

Core Principle VI:

Live SDK & B.Y.O.T.S.—Overcoming Complexity and Skill Gaps

63% of MSPs waste $250K+ annually duct-taping multiple vendor APIs, while 37% struggle to find enough skilled staff to handle each new endpoint. Meanwhile, legacy vendors claim they’re “open” by handing you incomplete APIs that break with every update—pushing the headache back onto your R&D team.

At WiBUZ, we solve this with two pillars:

1. Live SDK: Our embedded engineering squad manages the tedious work of vendor API updates, custom automation, and advanced integrations, so you don’t have to.

2. B.Y.O.T.S. (Bring Your Own Tech Stack): You don't need to discard your existing vendor investments or unique automation. We harmonize them within wibipOS, ensuring that any new module or integration you develop becomes part of our Builders’ Universe.

"ActionTec, an ODM of TIP Open WiFi APs was selected by MsTECH as their second vendor and managed by wibipOS through its integration with NetExperience"

–Frank Lai, VP of Business Development, ActionTec

Our Stance

We refuse to let “lack of internal dev resources” or “APIs too messy” crush your roadmap. By bundling Live SDK and B.Y.O.T.S., we free you from vendor intimidation tactics so you focus on revenue and innovation. That’s how you break the skill barrier, unify any hardware, and keep evolving—no forklift changes are required.

Looking Ahead: Which Side of History Will You Choose?

The Innovator’s Dilemma shows us that incumbents rarely volunteer to disrupt themselves. They’ll cling to their golden goose until it’s too late. Yet disruption always rewards those who stay agile. Will you spend 2025 patching code, pleading for vendor “roadmaps,” and watching margins shrink—or seize the chance to rebuild your MSP around a truly open, future-proof framework?

The choice is yours.

If you’re ready to break free, wibipOS is here to help you unify, innovate, and scale—without lock-in and endless overhead. Because once you open the door to vendor-neutral freedom, there’s no going back.

Your Next Move: Three Ways to Break Free

1. Join Our API-First WiFi Webinar—February 12, 2025, 11:00 AM

Ready to see how an open API can ignite WiFi innovation—and revolutionize your business? We’re partnering with Maravedis and the WBA to spotlight the API-first breakthroughs defining WiFi’s future. Dive into regulatory shifts (like the FCC’s endorsement of open WiFi), discover how MSPs can conquer MDU and hospitality, and shape the WBA 2025 roadmap. Reserve Your Spot →

2. Subscribe to The MSP Network Weekly

Are you tired of scouring half a dozen blogs to stay informed? The MSP Network Weekly—a Maravedis Research and WiBUZ initiative—gives Managed WiFi providers their dedicated news channel. You’ll get insights, research, and real-world strategies to stay competitive, from skilled labor shortages to shortened equipment cycles. Sign Up for the Newsletter →

3. Enroll in Our 90-Day Early Accelerator—Risk-Free

Want to slash R&D, unify hardware, and see ROI in 3 months? Celebrate our 10th Anniversary by joining the Q1 Cohort—we’re waiving $40,000 in fees for visionary MSPs that come on board now. You pick the biggest operational headache, and our Live SDK team embeds directly with you—no downtime, no forced lock-in.

If we don’t meet your KPIs, you pay nothing.

Claim Your Spot Now →

(Join by March 15 to lock in an additional 25% off your 2025 membership.)

MSPs who embrace open APIs and multi-vendor freedom are the ones that will conquer 2025—whether through a webinar, a newsletter, or a 90-day transformation that leaves vendor lock-in in the dust. The choice is yours—don’t miss your “Android moment” for Managed WiFi.

MS-TECH - an alumnus of EAP 2024, rolled out a nationwide network of 3,750 APs in 90 days. Next up: 700+ Schools, 5,600 APs.

1. Decide what you want to accomplish.

2. Join us, and

3. let's get it done!

P.S. Unsure? Re-check the Maravedis stats—your peers are already trapped. Will you be the MSP that leads, or one that follows?

This Is Your “Android Moment” for Managed WiFi

WiBUZ is an API-first, vendor-agnostic OS for Managed WiFi, built to liberate MSPs from lock-in and sky-high R&D. We unify Ruckus, Meraki, OpenWiFi, and more under your branded interface—no forklift upgrades. Experience B.Y.O.T.S. (Bring Your Own Tech Stack), rapid customizations via Live SDK, and a risk-free start with our 90-Day Early Accelerator Program.

Sign and Spread the Manifesto

We urge MSPs worldwide to stop feeding legacy vendors’ outdated gravy trains and start forging a truly open ecosystem. Share this manifesto, collaborate on modules, and help us future-proof Managed WiFi—together.

Magnus Johansson

CEO & Co-Founder, WiBUZ

Advocate for Open, Agnostic, Future-Proof Networks