wireless networking is too critical to ignore for long.
by rick telberg
[special for hp]
imagine trying to operate a competitive business without a telephone. obviously, that would have been impossible for the last 100 years.
american business is now waking up to the reality that being competitive without wireless technology will be equally impossible in the new century. wireless by all accounts is fast becoming the dominant force in communicating with employees, increasing their job satisfaction and helping them produce the best results. companies, particularly small and midsize businesses that wait too long to go wireless, risk falling far behind in all of those categories.
businesses of all sizes are rushing toward wireless system implementation almost as quickly as they adopted personal computers in the early 1980s. more than 77 percent of north american organizations will have adopted wireless technology systems by mid-2005, with most of the implementations occurring at mid-sized businesses, according to idc, while another research firm, allied business intelligence, projects that wireless local area network equipment sales revenue will reach $4.5 billion in 2006, up from $969 million in 2000.
in the most basic terms, wireless systems use radio frequencies rather than hard wiring to transmit data. within the office, wireless means computer connectivity to servers and peripherals with no strings attached – no cables to add and no holes to drill into walls. outside the office, it means that employees working from home or on the road at customer sites can instantaneously access centralized data and internet or intranet-based resources.
the benefits include:
? making employees more productive and decisive
? providing network connections for new employees or temps within minutes and eliminating the cost and hassles of cabling
? offering network access as needed by branch office employees, consultants or visitors
? reaching hard-to-wire locations
? making better use of limited space (i.e. converting a conference room into a temporary training site)
while wireless capability would have seemed like magic just a generation ago, for firms that select the right system, the only magic today is the potential return on investment. and those returns increase as businesses deploy complementary wireless solutions, such as mail and messaging, and sales force automation or customer relationship management.
however, companies must think long and hard and look for outside advice when determining what system to install and whether wireless is the way to go right now. besides the obvious issue of cost for products and maintenance, location of facilities is another key consideration.
some locations, particularly older buildings, may not be accessible to wireless signals. site surveys can help determine whether a wireless setup is feasible and where access points should be placed to maximize signal strength.
businesses should also look for someone with wireless expertise to advise their in-house it people as needed. outside expertise is particularly important during set-up and for security issues, such as authentication strategies, and for training company personnel – a key factor in the success of wireless implementation.
when looking for expertise and for systems, consider established names that you know you can trust. wireless is too critical to your company’s future to accept anything less.