Ruckus: Wireless offers up some hot sectors

Renilda Saguil, Ruckus Wireless country sales manager, talks wireless technology, trends and what sectors will benefit the most.

Application developers are set to have the time of their lives as advanced infrastructure begins to redefine what is possible in wireless networks.

With the infrastructure to deliver wireless systems to a myriad of industries and for a range of purposes at our disposal, it is a very exciting time to be working with wireless technologies.

In New Zealand, the education sector has become one of the first sectors to actively embrace advanced wireless technologies as their demands for extensive and well-structured wireless systems continue to grow.

Across the country, primary schools and colleges are recognising the need for a robust system which supports a high-density of users.

However, the key to sales success in this market lies in identifying how a wireless system will ensure security and allow education institutes to have control over their network.

With many students and teachers bringing their own devices into the wireless network, vigorous security measures must be manageable by the schools themselves.

Healthcare benefits

The good news is that these same attributes can be transferred into sales pitches for health and aged care sectors which could benefit greatly from efficient and secure wireless technology.

Deploying wireless technologies throughout businesses within these sectors will enable staff efficiencies and also improve patient and family journeys.

Secure and robust networks could give doctors, nurses and caregivers the ability to access patient and care records while bedside with patients or while on the move between wards.

This could remove a double up in many health care settings where notes are taken down in paper format and then added into an electronic database.

What’s more, patients and their families can benefit from being able to tap into a strong wireless connection.

This is particularly important for mid-tolong term patients and also those in residential care as loneliness and communication with family members is eased by access to the internet and communication platforms such as Skype.

Like air and water...

The hospitality sector is another arena where there is an opportunity to sell in strong wireless infrastructure.

Wireless is now like air and water; people chose hotels and holiday packages where they are provided with rich Wi-Fi access, and what’s more, people are willing to pay for it.

On a business front, we are seeing the development of Smart Wireless Services (SWS) which enhance the guest experience by letting businesses quickly create and customise wireless hotspots for single or multiple sites without building extensive data centers.

What’s more, Smart Wireless Services allow businesses to better manage and monetise their Wi-Fi offerings, increasing the potential of this as a revenue stream.

It also does away with the need to deploy expensive and cumbersome infrastructure typically required for offering managed Wi-Fi access services and gives businesses the power to easily design and manage Wi-Fi services from an intuitive ‘point-and-click’ cloud-based portal.

The new standard is for public access Wi-Fi – whether this is within our education institutions, healthcare and aged care sectors or when away on holiday.

People want access all the time, everywhere they go and that means the opportunities for selling in wireless infrastructure are endless.