The Only Managed Wifi Guide You’ll Ever Need

Workplace WiFi is as important to everyday operations as access to IT, so why do so few businesses choose a managed WiFi service? They probably don’t realize that it’s an affordable alternative. Less than 10 years ago, an affordable managed WiFi solution wasn’t even heard of. Most offices just set up a cheap, low-quality wireless router at the office’s IT closet, and called it a day. Since most office networks were run by one person or another, this was perfectly fine. But as time went on, businesses realized they needed to pay more attention to their work, and that their data was more valuable than ever.

Today, there are several options that businesses can choose from, including hardware and software solutions. You have to decide what fits your company’s needs. Some managed WiFi solutions come with software and a desktop access point, while others come with dedicated hardware. Some companies want to use the hardware solution, while others want to use the software. Whether you buy a hardware solution or software-based solution, however, you have to determine your needs first.

For small offices, managed WIFI services solution makes sense.

Here’s how it works: your service provider provides hardware like routers and access points, and also services your office network. When you’re connected to the internet, you log in, get online, check email and perform other typical tasks.

On the other hand, some large businesses may need more than just a laptop on the network. Some large businesses need a whole house, the entire office, or several buildings connected to one another. In this case, you’ll have to find a service provider who offers dedicated unmanaged wifi systems. The advantages of these systems include portability and scalability; your managed wifi system can be expanded later if you need it to.

When it comes to large businesses, some of the biggest Managed WiFi solutions around our campus access and managed wireless networks for students housing. The most popular campus Managed WiFi service is known as WAP (wired access). This type of service provides internet access directly to the laptop, whereas in student housing this type of system includes a router, access point, wireless cards and other devices. In student housing, these devices are usually installed by IT personnel.

The benefits of managed public wifi networks are many.

One of them is that they’re highly cost effective, as you don’t have to purchase expensive hardware to establish a fully managed wireless access. You also don’t need to pay for security monitoring, which saves money. A good internet service provider offers WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy) keys to ensure complete security; if a client uses a shared wireless access point without having their keys, the whole network is compromised.

Most managed wifi provides WPA 2 Enterprise, which is an advanced security technology that’s used to protect business data. With WPA 2 Enterprise, devices that connect to a public internet access point are checked before allowing access, to ensure that only authorized devices are allowed entry. Without this protection, anyone could easily open the door and gain access to sensitive information or take down the office machines. Apart from that, managed wifi provides secure VPN connection, which means employees can be alerted in case of a problem. Some managed wifi providers use hardware-based intrusion detection system to detect intruders and monitor the network.

• Wireless network monitoring is very important to help IT staff to solve issues on their own and helps in saving money.
• Wireless network monitoring also helps in improving employee productivity as it helps them to know which wireless networks are being used to send and receive files.
• It also helps in performing troubleshooting exercises and improving overall network performance.
• In short, having managed wifi makes your workplace more organized and efficient.