The latest technology and the opportunity for resellers
The latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard is significantly increasing its reach across a range of devices and, with faster speeds and stronger signals on offer, the technology is finally reaching for the mass market. Providing an overall enhanced user experience, ABI’s prediction of 19.4 million enterprise-class Wi-Fi access points to be shipped by 2020 looks set to hit the mark.
With growing trends such as BYOD increasing in the workplace, networks have been under significant pressure to deliver a smooth connection to every device. With seamless connectivity proven to enhance employee satisfaction and increase productivity, the question is no longer whether to migrate to 802.11ac but when.
The transition to 802.11ac previously meant deploying multiple access points (APs). However with 802.11ac Smart Antenna technology, it is now possible for a direct AP replacement that delivers a strong signal throughout the site. We actually use this ourselves in our offices, having upgraded from 802.11 ‘N’ routers. As such, we can confidently validate its ability to reliably cater for all devices on the network and particularly in the benefits it brings to small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) in terms of employee satisfaction and efficiency.
802.11ac means that employees can use the latest technologies without affecting anyone else’s network experience – even if they’re streaming videos or trying to access sizeable files. Alongside a fast and seamless migration process, 802.11ac technology delvers a crisp signal for data-intensive applications such as video streaming, video sharing and faster download times – activities that have come to be integral to a typical working day.
New technologies present a huge opportunity for resellers to capitalise on. The now seamless transition to 802.11ac technology, along with the multitude of benefits it brings, is ultimately why this new technology is such an attractive prospect for customers and fast becoming the expected standard.
