Wireless reach by Scott McClenaghan, technical sales and marketing director at Nitec I
read with interest recently the latest IDC figures for worldwide wireless LAN revenue. The report estimates that revenue in the enterprise wireless market is up some 13.9% year‑on‑year, with the total global revenue now standing at $790.3 million. Certainly, our own experience of the last 12 months or so would corroborate this picture of growth with increasing interest from clients, both existing and new.
There seem to be a number of drivers in this phenomenon.
The report cites the growth in the trend towards “BYOD” (bring your own device) in the enterprise. This trend is increasingly being discussed within IT circles because of the challenges associated with securing and managing non‑corporate devices running disparate operating systems.
The term attempts to encapsulate the growing tendency for businesses to permit employees to make use of whatever computing device they feel best enables them to get their job done.
The approach can range from one of tacit tolerance of the use of personal smartphones or tablets for accessing work email accounts to more formal policies with financial allowances provided to employees to facilitate device choice. Obviously, it is the predominantly mobile nature of these devices that is driving the requirement for wireless networking solutions.
Whilst this appears to be something of a factor in our direct experience, I suspect the BYOD phenomenon is more advanced in the USA. Locally, it seems more a case of tolerance of devices in organisations with existing wireless implementations rather than a case of wireless solutions being implemented to facilitate BYOD.
Another factor that is playing a part in growth in this sector is the increased formal adoption of mobile devices for line‑of‑ business software.
This adoption is coming in many forms from simple hand‑held barcode scanners to enhance efficiency and accuracy or production and ERP systems through to use of
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tablet devices for more natural and human‑ friendly recording of information in client‑facing environments. I suspect, if anything, this trend is likely to accelerate.
Managing expectation
Perhaps the most significant factor that we are seeing in growth in this area, however, is simple public expectation.
Organisations that have direct interaction with the public are finding that clients are increasingly expecting to have some form of Internet provision available.
And with fewer unlimited mobile data plans available, the general public is becoming more conscious about consuming cellular data. Obvious examples are hotels, cafes, and pubs but, increasingly, public bodies, financial institutions, garages ‒ really anywhere people spend time ‑ are coming under pressure to provide wireless Internet access either as a differentiator or simply to keep up with their competition.
It is not only public‑facing organisations where the pressure to provide Internet access is on the increase.
Many organisations, whose interactions are more business‑to‑business orientated, are also beginning to implement wireless LAN solutions in response to the demands of those visiting their premises.
In some cases, this simply represents a courtesy to visitors but in cases where multi‑ party meetings take place on a regular basis, it can be a real productivity boost to ensure everyone has external connectivity. Understandably, the provision of “free” Internet access is frequently viewed as a pure cost and the general ambition often seems to be to reduce the expense by any means necessary. Perhaps an employee who is a bit of an “IT enthusiast” suggests using a low‑cost home router to provide some basic wireless access.
Whilst this may seem appealing from a cost point‑of‑view, this kind of ad‑hoc approach can have fairly disastrous consequences. I see evidence of this sort of practise on a fairly regular basis,(and not only in small businesses!), and I can only assume the
organisations concerned have no real idea of the risk to which they are exposing themselves.
A wireless network will almost inevitably spill outside of your own premises. If you happen to be located in or around a residential area or in a building shared with other businesses, there is every chance that the signal will be accessible.
Whether it is simply a curious mind or someone with a more sinister intention, you can be sure that your security (or lack thereof) will be severely tested.
Protecting your access
I would be the first to acknowledge that more recent routers, (even consumer‑grade devices), do a much better job of pushing users towards decent levels of security but, all too often, it is actually old home routers that have been retired from active service in the home that make their way into small and even mid‑size organisations.
I frequently see Open or WEP protected wireless networks available in organisations that really cannot afford to take that risk. The former provides free and easy access whilst the latter now provides only the most cursory protection thanks to cryptographic weaknesses in the encryption algorithm. It really is not my intention to cause undue concern but if you are reading this and you are not certain that the wireless network operating in your organisation has been designed and implemented by trained professionals, then you should really investigate a little further if, at least, only to gain peace of mind.
There is little doubt that wireless connectivity is one of the most liberating and facilitating technologies to have developed in the last ten years. As long as due consideration is given to security and adequate investment is made in a suitable corporate solution, there is no reason why your own organisation should not benefit from this wonderfully enabling technology.
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