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6 tips for making a wired office
wireless-friendly | |
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At
first, the 802.11b hotspot I sprung for in 2003
seemed so frivolous that I didn't bother
mentioning it to clients who visited my office.
And since my PC remained wired to a high-speed
land connection, I nearly forgot I had installed
it.
Then one day I caught an editor who was
visiting me as he tried to dial an Internet
connection through the phone. I was horrified
anyone would revert to dial-up in the 21st
century, let alone my supervisor. "Why don't you
use the Wi-Fi," I asked him.
It was nothing a
wireless card and a password couldn't fix — but it
did get me to thinking about the importance of
having wireless Internet access in your office,
and how that can help boost business.
A number
of recent surveys link business productivity with
wireless connections. But a 2004 Harris
Interactive poll, in particular, caught my
attention. It suggested that a quarter of all
employees often work outside their regular office.
It also said 14% of all office workers wanted more
wireless networking tools.
Connect the dots on
these two facts, and you could conclude that
there's growing demand for wireless connections in
small offices like yours. And not just by your own
employees, but by visitors. According to industry
studies, today's professionals are at their office
desks only 30% of the time, and for frequent
business travelers, the figure is even
lower.
So how do you turn your wired office
into a wireless workspace that's not only
employee-friendly but also visitor-friendly? Here
are six guidelines to follow. |
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1. |
Do your
homework before you buy. The only thing
worse than no wireless network is the wrong
wireless network. "The most common mistake, when
going wireless is not doing your homework or
research before the equipment is bought and
installed," says Larry Levy, a wireless
troubleshooting expert based in Jacksonville,
Fla. He's seen small-office managers pick
wireless hardware that couldn't reach every part
of the building, leaving big coverage gaps.
Especially when it's a custom job using special
hardware for encryption, it's important to pay
attention to every detail. |
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2. |
Listen to your
visitors. Are they asking for wireless
access — or do they need speed? If your clients
drop by your office with the intention of moving
large files to and from their laptop computers,
for example, then they may care more about
bandwidth than convenience. "The assumption is
that speed is the main determinant of access
point quality," says Derek Kerton, a wireless
expert and principal with The Kerton Group in
San Jose, Calif. But that's not necessarily
valid. An access point needs to be secure,
interoperable with all client gear, and have
long range, an easy user interface, and good
instructions and support. "And if speed really
is the goal, then string wire," he adds. "There
is one-gigabit copper LAN equipment for sale at
reasonable prices. So if speed is the metric, go
for copper." |
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3. |
Don't confuse
Bluetooth for Wi-Fi. Your visitors
won't. In an effort to cut costs, some small
businesses try to improvise by using Bluetooth
as a cheap wireless network. "Bluetooth is
designed as a cable-replacement technology, not
as a way of linking multiple devices in a
peer-to-peer network," says Robyn West, the vice
president for small and medium business at
Hewlett-Packard. Bottom line: In order to meet
visitors' needs, you need both a reliable
wireless network and at least a printer with
Bluetooth capabilities. |
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4. |
Location,
location, location. Where you put your
access points is especially important when you
want to be accommodating to your guests. Even if
you've bought the right hardware, you have to
put it in a place where it works best. And
where's that? "Place your base station, gateway,
or router near the center of your intended
wireless network area," says Jim Caruso, chief
executive officer of Telecom Alley, a technology
consulting firm in Atlanta. "This will minimize
the possibility of eavesdropping by neighboring
wireless networks. Avoid placing wireless
components close to electro-magnetic devices,
especially those with frequencies in the
2.4-gigahertz range." |
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5. |
Remember:
safety first. Your PC — and your
visitor's PC — is twice as vulnerable to attacks
on a wireless connection. It's an especially big
problem for do-it-yourselfers, warns Gordon
Bridge, president of CM IT Solutions in Austin,
Texas. "None of the hardware providers offer
on-site support," he says. "They try to make it
easy to implement their products, but
unfortunately, their products offer little
security." Major breaches to the system wouldn't
just affect your visitors — they'd affect you,
too, since the outsiders would have access to
your network. Bridge advises hiring a pro to
fine-tune your wireless system. |
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6. |
Don't neglect
the ongoing care and maintenance of your
network. That's a surprisingly easy
thing to forget when everyone else in your
office generally works on a wired conventional
network. But ignore the wireless access points
at your own peril, says Todd Myers, the chief
executive of Airpath Wireless, a hotspot
provider based in Waltham, Mass. He recommends
appointing one employee with oversight
responsibility for the wireless network. But, he
adds, give that person clear marching orders.
"Open the network up to the visiting guests —
but have it managed and also have it secure for
employee network access," he says. "This can be
accomplished by segmenting the private network
and the public guest
network." | |
For
more tips on wireless networking for small
offices.
If most of the employees in your small
office remain connected to a conventional network,
you might have second thoughts before investing in
wireless technology. After all, why shell out
perfectly good money for something only your
guests are going to use? But that approach is
shortsighted, according to Josh Radlein, a
technology specialist with CDW Corp. in Vernon
Hills, Ill. "We hear frequently that
return-on-investment comes from productivity gains
and the flexibility to shift people and resources
around quickly to optimize available space," he
says.
That long-term approach is what
Sparkspace, a small business that offers
conferencing facilities in Columbus, Ohio, took
when it redesigned its office spaces. "I've
noticed a high percentage of our guests now have
wireless cards in their laptops. It seems like
this trend took off almost overnight," says Mark
Henson, who manages the facility.
The result?
Not only do clients benefit from Wi-Fi. So have
Sparkspace's employees. They have more freedom of
movement within the office, which has revved up
productivity. "And it adds a coolness factor,
which fuels the perception of Sparkspace as a hip,
cutting-edge kind of place for our guests," he
adds. "That's good for PR." |
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