What is Managed Wi-Fi?

Explaining the Managed Wi-Fi Solution

Context

For your business customers, having access to the Internet via Wi-Fi is an expectation. Wherever they go, today’s consumers increasingly count on your business offering of complimentary Internet access.   

A managed Wi-Fi solution that is provided can even play a role in consumer behavior and impact which companies they choose to do business with.   

In some industries, complimentary Wi-Fi may be a determining factor. But the benefits of managed Wi-Fi aren’t just for the consumer; for many businesses, it could mean deeper customer relationships or innovative service offerings. 

What is managed Wi-Fi?

  • Managed Wi-Fi is a business solution that essentially allows Wi-Fi to be managed As A Service (think WaaS or Wi-Fi-As-A-Service). Managed Wi-Fi enables an organization to outsource all the resource-intensive tasks to a third-party vendor. Depending on your business, the resources required to procure, design, install, maintain, monitor, and secure a Wi-Fi network can be significant.

     

    A robust business Wi-Fi solution allows your customers and employees to connect through a single, highly reliable, highly secure network. Depending on your organizational requirements, you can choose from a wide variety of network devices and top internet vendors. 

Benefits of outsourcing

The benefits of outsourcing your Managed Wi-Fi network

  • As the need for 24/7 Internet access for both customers and employees continues to escalate, managing your Wi-Fi can become overwhelming—even for those companies with large IT budgets. Organizations that choose to outsource their Wi-Fi to a managed provider can gain many benefits, some of which are more tangible and quantifiable than others. 
     

    For example, these tangible benefits include: improved network speed and performance, lower total cost of ownership (TCO), better end-user support, increased network and endpoint security, and the ability to reduce the burden on IT teams.
     

    While these advantages are attractive, the less tangible benefits are equally critical when deciding whether a managed Wi-Fi solution can help your business. 
     

    Here are a few to consider: 

  • Show your customers you understand their need to stay connected

     

    For consumers, a slow or unavailable Wi-Fi connection can be a huge deterrent. If they expect Internet access, they’ll go somewhere else. Sure, they may come back, but how much business are you giving up just from that one lost visit, connection, or sale? Offering consistent, available, and reliable Internet is crucial. 

  • Secure a competitive advantage for your business and attract new customers
     

    Depending on your organization’s industry and sector, the quality of your Wi-Fi as a service can mean the difference between new customers and stagnant sales. With a managed Wi-Fi solution, you can customize your connection page with branding and messaging that can be used for marketing endeavors.

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  • Gain insight into how your guests use Wi-Fi

     

    With a managed Wi-Fi solution, you can take advantage of advanced reporting capabilities with visibility into network status and even anonymous aggregated customer data. With this valuable insight, you can increase and improve customer engagement. 

  • Scale your connections quickly and securely 

     

    If you have multiple locations or your business is growing, scalability and security are paramount. A managed Wi-Fi solution can seamlessly integrate your public (consumer) and private (corporate) Wi-Fi networks over a secure network. 

Important factors

What to look for in a managed Wi-Fi solution

  • When evaluating a Managed Wi-Fi solution, the most important factor is choosing a reliable and experienced network services provider. You need to ensure that the company behind the solution has the technical expertise and background to work with you at every stage of the process. 
     

    Once the Wi-Fi is in place, that’s just the beginning. Wi-Fi may be plug-and-play in a home network, but many variables need to be addressed in the business environment.
     

    The Managed Wi-Fi provider should be well-positioned to offer services that go beyond the installation process. First, you should expect a careful analysis of your business goals, a Wi-Fi design that aligns with business objectives, and a professional deployment. Once installed, you should look for a solution that addresses the three M’s: monitoring, managing and measuring. 

     

    If your Wi-Fi experience is not monitored, managed and measured correctly, you are essentially left in the dark about how the service is performing. As the user experience continues to play a more integral role for IT, you’ll need the three M’s to stay proactive and keep customers and employees happy.

AT&T Business Wi-Fi

Manage Wi-Fi® across your locations like never before. Deliver the highly reliable wireless experience guests expect. And keep your back office connected and your data highly secure.

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Security risks

Security risks of unmanaged Wi-Fi

  • Unless you have a dedicated security team with considerable resources, managing today’s Wi-Fi networks can be a significant challenge for most businesses. 

     

    When your business Wi-Fi security isn’t appropriately managed, you are at risk of missing some key security functions, such as:
     

    • Lacking the right security controls 
    • No user authentication and tracking
    • An inability to monitoring your network for potential breaches

     

    Your Wi-Fi network is not all that different from your corporate network. It is also vulnerable to many cybersecurity threats and requires a security strategy to minimize the potential for exploitation. Not to mention, the skyrocketing number of mobility and IoT devices connecting to our networks at an alarming rate which will impact the number of IoT cybersecurity issues. 

     

    With a managed Wi-Fi solution, you gain peace of mind knowing the infrastructure is managed by a team of expert professionals with proven experience protecting Wi-Fi networks and defending against threats. 

     

    We deliver highly reliable and scalable business Wi-Fi, with 24/7 support for your end-users and employees. We’ll keep your back office connected and your data highly secure.

     

     

     

     

Resources

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