How to Make Wireless LAN more efficient

Deploying a wireless LAN provides many benefits, but recent research by the Aberdeen Working Group has found that many companies are stuck due to the complexity and maintenance problems of the wireless LAN, and thus cannot obtain the greatest value.

This report highlights the importance of new technology and investment. Regardless of the driver for better performance and support for a variety of applications, it is necessary to make the wireless LAN more simple investment.

This report "measuring the real value of Wireless LAN deployment" quantizes the commercial value of wireless technology and shows how to increase the value of Wireless LAN by adding non-traditional application services such as voice and video. value. However, the study also found that companies must prepare a major expenditure on human resources, tools, and business processes to maximize value from wireless LAN.

"The research clearly shows that wireless technology can bring huge operational benefits to the Organization," said Philip Winthrop, director of research at Aberdeen's wireless and mobile projects. "However, it also shows that in order to adapt to the traditional wireless LAN system and obtain the promised efficiency and collaboration benefits, it requires a large investment in a timely manner. "

The study found that 315 of the 95% enterprises surveyed have deployed wireless networks. Respondents are concentrated in three groups: Slow enterprises, average enterprises in the industry, and the best enterprises. The best-level enterprise gains the greatest commercial benefits from the wireless LAN deployment. According to the performance score of the wireless LAN, enterprises with low mobility accounted for 30% of the total. Enterprises in the industry average accounted for 50% of the total, and the top 20% of enterprises in the optimal level.

This study shows that the best-level enterprises make more profits from wireless LAN than those in the industry average. Optimal enterprises coordinate wireless networks to improve the efficiency of end users and simplify implementation and reduce management overhead.

According to the survey, the best-level enterprises have achieved a 27% growth in labor flexibility, which comes from the deployment of Wireless LAN and 26% growth in labor collaboration, this also comes from the deployment of Wireless LAN and the 29% increase in Conference quality, thanks to the use of wireless LAN team members. These advantages are three times higher than those of companies that use wireless LAN.

The survey also found that the best sector enterprises had 67% more policies for centralized Wireless LAN Management than all other enterprises, and doubled the number of wireless network management staff; it is 25% higher than the industry average in terms of user access policies.

On the contrary, enterprises in the industry have achieved 20% growth in labor flexibility, 11% growth in collaboration, and 16% growth in Conference quality. Finally, those slow-moving companies only achieved 14% growth in flexibility, 6% growth in collaboration workshops, and 9% growth in Conference quality.

The Aberdeen Working Group recommends that these companies centralize management of their wireless LAN while developing security policies and user access policies and preventive measures for malicious access. It is also necessary to accelerate the integration plan between voice and other application services (such as videos. We found that during these steps, the best-level companies performed more frequently in performing spectrum and RF Analysis and implemented a shift from manual site survey tools to automated systems.

David Confalonieri, vice chairman of the marketing department of the wireless LAN vendor Extricom (who participated in part of the Aberdeen study plan), said many companies are trying to get the corresponding rewards from the wireless LAN deployment, it also strives to explore how to maximize value from its wireless LAN, regardless of its inherent benefits.

What companies ignore is that when looking at the current wireless LAN, we should consider how to reduce costs rather than treat it as a real infrastructure. Companies need to get rid of the mindset of return on earnings, Confalonieri said, and focus on earnings before achieving any return.

"The results of the best-level companies show that wireless LAN is valuable," he said. "But this value requires investment. The benefits are huge, but they are directly proportional to the cost of investment, and those who have successfully obtained the benefits they expect must be consumed in advance ."

According to the results of this survey, only 22% of organizations deployed wireless LAN at the optimal level to reduce network deployment scale and management overhead, while 58% of organizations focused on increasing flexibility. In addition, 94% of respondents said that an important consideration for deploying a wireless LAN is coverage and bandwidth, while 36% said they considered cost savings when deploying a wireless LAN.

To maximize the benefits of deploying a wireless LAN, companies need resources to overcome complexity issues, Confalonieri said.

"The trick is to make wireless look wired," he said. "Make it a simple and predictable way to use application services in the air.

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