4 Benefits of Business WiFi That Create a Competitive Advantage

The benefits of offering free WiFi is game-changer for many small businesses. As a small business owner, providing customers with the best experience possible is one of your primary objectives.

You understand that it’s critical to your success. Meeting and exceeding customers needs is what differentiates you from competitors and makes your business stand out.

As an employer, you want your employees to be productive. You want them to have the tools they need to get the job done, the best they can. And in the least amount of time.

Providing both employees and customers with fast, reliable WiFi meets each of the needs and more, and can create a competitive advantage for your small business.

Consider these four impactful benefits of business WiFi for your business to provide increased benefits to your visitors.

Increase Customer Satisfaction

Customers view WiFi access at your business as a necessity. In just a few years in the minds of most consumers, access to free WiFi transformed is no longer a perk, it’s an expectation.

This is particularly in the hospitality industry, where a lack of hotel (or Airbnb) WiFi access is a major deal breaker. For while-you-wait service providers (such as auto mechanics) or other by-appointment businesses (like doctor’s offices, salons, and legal practices), WiFi makes wait times seem shorter and even helps make your customers more comfortable if there are unforeseen delays.

Customers can do the product research in-store, which lets them feel more confident about their purchasing decisions.

Additionally, customer WiFi lets you create some new branding and marketing opportunities. You can create a branded customer portal to deliver coupons, news, customized recommendations, loyalty rewards and more. Along the way, you can collect customer email addresses and data to help you make smarter decisions.

More than merely meeting a common customer expectation, in-store wireless internet access is important because it helps you to connect with your customers, promoting your brand and engaging with them directly. An app providing customers with benefits like a map to products they’re interested in, location-based coupons, or curated recommendations can make for a more personal, meaningful customer experience.

Promote Productivity

Great WiFi in the office is all about increasing productivity. Cloud-based apps make it possible to get work done from just about anywhere and collaborate with partners around the world. The cloud enables you to back up your data securely so you can still access it from anywhere, no matter what happens. These tools can consolidate and streamline your workflow, and because they run on the web they don’t require any installation time.

Another option is to use business WiFi to overhaul your telephone system. Voice over IP (VoIP) and other internet-based communication technologies let you effortlessly route and reroute calls, even if a key member of your team is on the go.

These systems scale up easily for growth, or you can leverage them to take advantage of a distributed team. In case something goes wrong, they offer a high level of redundancy to keep you connected to your customers.

Business WiFi is the backbone of all of these technologies, so you need a solid network to support them.

Boost Employee Satisfaction

One of the best ways to keep employees motivated and engaged is to put them in a position to succeed. You want your team to feel like you’re taking care of them, and if you’ve ever sat staring at a loading screen then you know what a difference a good business WiFi connection makes for your productivity (and your mood).

You want to get work done, not be sitting around waiting to even get started. Help your employees do their jobs better (and with less frustration) with a speedy and reliable WiFi connection.

A wireless network also frees up your team to find the best space for them to focus, whether that’s a quieter space down the hall or the bustling coffee shop next door.

By allowing each employee to find an environment that best suits him or her at a particular time (and with cloud-based collaboration tools, that environment might be home), you increase productivity and employee satisfaction.

Boost Profits

All the above business benefits come hand-in-hand with WiFi. You don’t need expensive equipment or to spend hours to get something up and running to benefit from a great business network. Business WiFi is a smart investment that comes with a significant ROI.

Ready to add a more efficient WiFi system to your business network? Call us today, we’ll help you create and implement the one that’s just right for you, your employees and/or your customers.

Five Cool CES 2020 Sightings We Wanted to Share

For those in, and who love, technology going to CES is for us, like going to a giant magical toy shop. There are gadgets, gizmos and innovations as far as the eye can see. Some are a little weird, some are years away from production, but some are ready to the market very soon, making them even more exciting.

Here’s a look at some of the things that caught our eye at CES 2020 both on a professional and a tech geek level.

Samsung Wall MicroLED TV

We’ve come to expect that we’ll see big TVs at CES 2020, but even we were not ready for the sight of the floor demo model of the Samsung Wall MicroLED TV. It measured 292 inches (that’s over 24 feet or 7.4 meters) and was easily the biggest TV at CES ever.

This huge version was primarily for show only. The version that is being rolled out into production is smaller at 150-inch and there are plans, the company said, for 88-, 93 and 110-inch versions. Which are all still pretty big.

The big deal about these TVs however is the MicroLED functionality. MicroLED is the first new screen technology in a decade and is more akin to OLED than LCD. It delivers perfect black levels and high brightness because it uses millions of tiny LEDs to create the image directly, for picture quality. It supports 8K too, although common adoption of that is still a few years away (at least)

Razer Sila 5G Home Router

More and more even console gaming is going online, and gamers are demanding more and more from their Internet connection. Couple that with the fact that handheld consoles are hot again, thanks to the Nintendo Switch, and a home router that can deliver wireless speeds to satisfy gamers is a a must.

Razer have long been known for their gaming hardware, but never before as a router provider. The Razer Sila they exhibited at CES 2020 aims to change that.

The router, Razer says, can optimize network prioritization to sustain low latency and high bandwidth for gaming and differentiate between different gaming systems, such as console or PC, as well as lock in bandwidth for online play and address some unique challenges posed by cloud gaming.

The problem is – for gamers interested in giving it a try – is that as of now there are no plans for it to be released into markets outside Razer’s Singapore home. However, the Sila can serve as inspiration for manufacturers closer to home to create something similar for North American gamers.

Dabby

Speaking of demands on your home network more and more people are ‘cutting the cord’ and consuming most of their TV entertainment from the growing number of streaming services available.

This can get a little confusing though. Endlessly scrolling through Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and many more services to find something to watch. The Dabby aims to solve that. It’s The touch device (which basically looks like a thicker tablet) pairs with a TV dongle, and lets you use voice commands to search not only every paid streaming service, but also free sites and social media. A neat idea, although the $400 price tag quoted at CES 2020 might be a bit much for some.

Jabra Elite Active 75t True Wireless Earbuds

Jabra earbuds are hugely popular for use by office workers and call center staff as they are reliable, efficient and even relatively affordable. The Jabra Elite Active 75t true wireless earbuds – which will be available in just a few weeks – take that to a new level, offering four-microphone technology for clear calls, a seven-hour battery life and dust and sweat resistance. In fact they are waterproof, for those who make calls underwater…

Charmin Rollbot

We have to finish on a weird one. The Charmin Rollbot. It’s basically what it sounds like. A rolling bot that will bring you a roll of toilet paper should you be caught in a delicate situation and an empty toilet roll. It has a happy bear face too. We’re not sure why it exsits. But then again the Charmin bears have always been a little confusing anyway.

Smart Boardrooms – What They Are and Why You Might Need One

Technology moves fast; what can be seen as cutting edge one day can soon be made redundant by the latest developments in technology in a matter of months. AV technology is perhaps the best example of this.

We’ve come a long way from the unreliable, highly compressed video conferencing software of the early 2000s, but AV technology refuses to rest on its laurels. It’s constantly evolving. And you need to keep pace with it to remain competitive and efficient.

When it comes to meetings and conference calls it’s important to be flexible. The developments made in AV technology have made this flexibility more achievable than ever. Smart boardrooms are an exciting prospect, but what are they and what are the trends to look out for?

What are Smart Boardrooms?

The image of a traditional boardroom is one that involves a meeting room packed full of (bored) people gathered in front of a central presenter. However, with more and more people taking advantage of technology to work remotely it’s hard to gather everyone into one room at the same time.

Smart boardrooms solve this. And all it takes is the press of a button. Or a few buttons anyway. Through the use of cameras and microphones and clever conferencing software, anyone with an Internet connection can attend a meeting anywhere in the world.

Conference Room Technology Trends

We live in a busy, digital age where time is a valuable currency, but also hard to come by. Thankfully, due to advancements in tech, it’s possible to make meetings more productive and efficient. This saves you precious time and allows you to communicate your message to everyone who needs to see and hear it fast. Some of the best ways to achieve this are:

Video Conferencing:

Powerful devices are now available that combine cameras, microphones and speakers all into one product. This foregoes the need for multiple devices and, as most of the hardware is wireless, makes installation much easier. Best of all, the picture and sound quality of these devices is crystal clear.

Interactive Whiteboards:

As long as you have an internet connection you can share your ideas through an interactive whiteboard. These smart boards allow you to remotely use touch (or type) technology to give presentations and highlight key details for any other attendees to the presentation. People, no matter where they are located, can interact with the whiteboard to help create an enhanced conference experience.

Meeting Room Assistants:

Applications like Alexa for Business give you the opportunity to make your conferences and meetings easier than ever to organize. With an emphasis on flexibility, these meeting room assistants allow you to not only schedule meetings but also connect to other technology in meeting rooms like video conferencing software.

Collaboration Meeting Room:

This application, designed by Cisco, is redefining the meeting room experience. The beauty of Collaboration Meeting Room (CMR) is that it allows you to set up a virtual meeting place no matter where you are. This can then be used by attendees with voice and video technology to connect and share content. Available through the majority of smart devices, CMR offers a straightforward way to improve business decisions and enhance business relationships.

Conference Room Technology

By embracing these trends in conference room technology and creating a smart boardroom you will soon discover the impact of cutting edge AV installations on your business.

The flexibility on offer and the ability to connect seamlessly with multiple partners is astounding. And it will enhance your business decisions and strategies in ways you didn’t know were possible.

Security and Access Control Considerations for Airbnb Hosts

Airbnb is still growing, globally, and as you might imagine, Southern California is a popular Airbnb hotspot. And why not? We have the sun, the surf, the entertainment and so much more.

Safety and security, for both their guests and the property itself, has to be top of mind for any Southern California Airbnb host. However, there are some special access control considerations that must be kept in mind if you want to be a ‘superhost’ who can offer guests a safe stay while also protecting your property and its contents. Here’s a look at some of the most important.

Doors and Locks: Making Things Convenient, Safe and Secure

Many travelers love Airbnb because of the flexibility it can offer. Many also appreciate the peace, quiet and privacy. A trip can be so much more enjoyable when you can come and go as you please, uninterrupted by hotel staff. Getting in and out of the property is something that Airbnb owners have to give careful thought to.

The old way of letting a guest into your property was by giving them a key. In some cases, there would be different keys for different areas of the house, especially if the property, as is the case for many larger Airbnb properties in Southern California, has been divided into several different units.

This process is, however, cumbersome, inefficient and not very secure. Hosts would either need to be available to hand over the keys or place them in a lockbox. Keys are easy to duplicate and easy to lose, and if there are several entrances a guest has to unlock things get even more complicated.

Automatic locks are a far better access control solution for everyone involved. They can usually be set and reset via a mobile phone, which allows hosts to create a new passcode for each guest that can be changed as soon as they check out. This prevents unauthorized (unpaid) reentry will also offering the guest extra peace of mind that they will be super safe inside.

If your Airbnb contains several units passed the front door, a code handle lock can be an excellent way to secure the space and allow easy access control to those who are supposed to be there (ie paying guests)

These handles, like this one from one of the excellent security equipment providers we use, ASSA ABLOY, look like standard door handles, but they have a built-in keypad into which an access code will need to be entered in order for it to open. This code can be set and reset remotely on an as needed basis and the handle itself is sleek and unobtrusive, so it won’t clash with your interior decor.

Party Damage Prevention

Most Airbnb guests are great. They respect the host and their property and behave in a wholly appropriate manner. Most guests. There are stories, horror stories, about parties that get out of control, doors that are left unlocked so valuables are stolen, and noise levels that not only annoy neighbors but violate local ordinances as well.

This can be especially worrying for Airbnb hosts who do not live in or around the property. A tilt motion sensor can help. These sensors can alert a host when a door has been open for too long, or when it is being constantly opened and closed (a great indication that a party’s happening) and even if certain valuables have been moved.

Alerts are sent to a cell phone, no active alarm is sounded on the property, and so a host can monitor activity without violating guests’ privacy.

Sounds sensors are another great way of alerting Airbnb hosts to unusual behavior without encroaching on the guests’ privacy. A sound sensor will alert owners to any decibel spikes in their property. It doesn’t eavesdrop or record sound. It just alerts the host of loud noises.

Video Cameras

Video cameras are a sticky issue with Airbnb, so you have to make use of them carefully. If you have any cameras installed this must be disclosed in your listing in general and to any paying guests specifically. Most guests, however, are fine with CCTV camera installed at entrances to the property, and so as long as you disclose the fact that they are there adding this layer of security will be a plus in many guests’ eyes, not a negative.

New Offices, New Cabling. What Needs to Be Considered?

The business world isn’t stagnant, and it’s not that unusual for a company to eventually reach a point where an office move is on the cards.

In the ‘old days’, such a move meant loading up furniture and files into trucks and heading off. It was hard work and something of a pain, but nothing compared to moving today’s tech laden offices.

While you may have a plan for actually moving your tech to its new home in the back of your mind, there is another important consideration that will need to be addressed before you even choose a new space. Cabling.

The sheer amount of cabling required to ensure your IT capabilities are working to their maximum capacity can be mind boggling, even for a smaller business. Therefore, it’s crucial that you understand your cabling requirements when upgrading your office.

Survey the New Location for Infrastructure Suitability

A new location will need to be carefully evaluated in order to understand the infrastructure capabilities it presents. Surveying the physical layout should be your first move as this will allow you to plan where your cabling, power supplies, networks and telecommunications can be installed.

This is rarely something that can be done successfully without help from an outside expert. The good news is that cabling experts like the Data Installers team can survey both your old and new locations and devise a plan that will keep everything running as it should after the move while keeping the time involved to do so to a minimum.

Discuss Budgeting Issues

Another reason to work with an outside team of cabling professionals is budget. Only when you have a solid plan in place will you be able to determine a real cost estimate of just how much moving your tech is going to work out to. Outside teams will also be able to suggest, if needed, cost-cutting measures that will keep that budget lower without having to sacrifice functionality when you more to your new space.

Plan for Future Expansion

Many businesses move premises because they are outgrowing their old ones. And they want to think that their growth will continue. Therefore, making sure your new premises will allow you to expand in terms of both space and the ability to integrate additional cabling is another must.

Other Considerations to Keep in Mind

Equipment and employee changes can have a drastic impact on the layout of your office. Couple this with the need for expansion and it’s clear to see that reorganizing an office and its cabling is still a big deal when the move is underway. As a result, the following relocation factors need to be considered:

Moving Office Furniture

Cabling is often run under, over and across your office furniture, so it presents a major obstacle when it comes changing your office around. The main sticking point is the downtime incurred from employees unable to work at their computers, so the simplest solution is to move the furniture around out of hours.

Additional Power Supplies

The influx of your equipment may bring with it the need for an upgrade in power supplies and data solutions. However, these utilities also require new cabling or a reworking of existing cabling, so it’s essential that consideration is given to achieving this successfully.

Reorganize and Classify Your Cabling

Over time, office cabling can become severely jumbled as new equipment is integrated and older cabling is left behind. A full office upgrade provides a fantastic opportunity to organize your cabling into something more coherent, so make sure that doing so is a part of the overall plan.

Relocating or upgrading your office is never an easy task and it’s especially difficult when it comes to reorganizing your cabling. However, with careful consideration, planning and expert support you’ll be able to complete a successful move with these tasks completed successfully and with minimal downtime.

Signs Your Office Network is Failing to Never Ignore

Most businesses rely heavily on their office network to keep their day-to-day operations going. Which means that when something goes wrong, the whole company can come to a grinding halt.

In order to avoid this scary situation, you need to learn how to recognize the early warning signs that it’s time to upgrade your office network so that you can do so in a planned, organized way before you are forced to while trying to deal with the critical problem of a business that is stalled because its tech components have failed.

Coffee Break File Opens

If you actually take your coffee breaks to coincide with having to open certain files just so that you have something to do while you wait, then there is a problem. And not just in terms of the health of the hardware or server. Sluggish systems lead to decreased productivity, which can lead to a significant dent in your overall bottom line.

The Place is Getting Noisier

Often, when a car is beginning to fail in some way it will start making odd noises that can serve as an early warning sign of trouble to come, and the same often holds true of aging hardware.

Fans and hard drives age and as they do they lose efficiency and also become noisier as they do so. Odd whirs, clicks and hums are not OK, and they are more than just an annoyance, they often indicate something bad is on the way and should not be ignored.

The IT Guy is on Double Overtime

If the single busiest person in your office is your IT guy because he’s forever being called on to fix niggling little issues day in and day out you need to do something about it, not just to save his sanity but also to stop the productivity killing time sucks that network problems bring with them.

You Can’t Run That Great New Software

As times change so do the softwares that are most useful to businesses in all kinds of niches. There are software innovations cropping up all the time that can help improve communications, increase productivity, automate everyday tasks and more, but if your network and systems are just too outdated to handle them its more than frustrating, it can really slow your business’ growth down.

Armageddon Finally Hit

The day has come. Your server has officially died. Your network is completely down, and your business has come to a grinding halt. As you scramble to replace everything, you quickly begin to discover that your software and/or hardware is outdated, discontinued, and no longer has technical support.

Planning ahead is the only way to avoid this kind of ‘doomsday’ scenario. It’s a lot easier – and usually a lot cheaper to – to go through a planned set of system upgrades than it is to recover from a disastrous system failure that could have been prevented.

Many of the services we offer at Data Installers can be very useful when it comes to creating – and maintaining – the best possible office network. Contact us today to learn more.

5 Hidden Benefits of Business CCTV

Usually when business owners think about security camera systems and CCTV they think only about the value they are likely to bring in terms of protecting their physical assets. Which CCTV certainly does and that’s a great thing.

Research study after research study has shown that installing these security systems both cuts down on theft and serves as a powerful deterrent to anything like that happening in the first place. However; your surveillance system can offer more—much more.

Today’s surveillance systems are significantly more advanced than they were just a couple of years ago. Here we’ll explore a few of the ways you can get the most from adding surveillance cameras to your business.

24/7 Business Protection

As we mentioned, the most obvious benefit of installing a business CCTV surveillance system is having the ability to monitor your business or various business locations from anywhere, at anytime, including with a mobile app and device.

You can log into the app from anywhere to quickly view live and recorded video of your business. You can search footage for specific time frames and incidents when and where needed, whether you’re across town or across the country, after hours or on vacation. Keeping an eye on your business has never been easier and it’s more affordable than you might think.

Boost Productivity

Washington University conducted a study on the impact of video monitoring on employee behavior at almost 400 restaurants. And the results were a little surprising.

Employee theft predictably went down. (This is a big deal for that industry because profit margins are so thin, and traditions like giving out a free round to get a big tip are standard practice for a lot of servers.) The unexpected thing, however, was that productivity and sales actually went up even more than theft went down

This obviously doesn’t apply to every situation. If employees feel like the video monitoring is going to lead to their every action being questioned and picked apart, they’ll start following every last protocol and process that’s assigned to them. You’ll get only what you’ve asked of them, and they’re less likely to try experiments or innovations that could lead to productivity gains.

Video and Remote Surveillance Protects You from Liability

Another benefit you might not initially consider when looking at business CCTV is the protection it offers you and your employees in the case of liability. So many of these instances can boil down to a he-said-she-said, so having a video record to back you up can be invaluable.

Liability can affect a small business in any number of ways. A customer can have an accident on your property and sue you for damages. Employees can file a harassment, discrimination, or other suit against you. Depending on what industry you’re in, you might also need to have records handy for compliance issues. The key is to make it clear to employees that the video cameras are there for their protection and that, no matter what happens, the recording will have their back if a situation gets out of hand

Customer Journey Analysis

For retailers, and even restaurants, when it comes to video surveillance, it’s not just employees that you can analyze. If you want to create a customer experience that is truly top-notch, you need to start taking a look at how your customers move through your store, and what you can do to streamline that process.

The key when it comes to looking at customer behavior is to figure out an organized way to turn your video into data. You need to find a way to take what you’re looking at and turn it into numbers that you can slice into different perspectives.

For every customer journey, you want to know where they were and when, so that you can look at both what sections of your business are popular, and also if that varies by time of day or day of week. These insights might make you rethink your ground plan, spacing out the most popular sections of the store so you can drive traffic to less popular sections that might benefit from more attention.

Going deeper, identify customers who have made a purchase, and then work backward to look at what a successful buying journey looks like. Are there things that these customers have in common? You want to look at everything, from what they’re buying to what time of day they generally come by.

Reduced Business Insurance Premiums

In some instances, a remote surveillance system can actually lower your insurance premiums, although this varies by the insurance provider. You will need to check with your insurance company on what is available as well as the requirements.

Summing Up the Benefits

While we normally think of video surveillance as a security solution, there are a lot of other ways it can help your business. Using video surveillance as positive reinforcement can boost employee productivity and show your team that you have their back. In cases of liability or compliance, your camera system can be an important source of evidence to protect you.

Finally, using business video surveillance to analyze your customers’ behavior patterns can lead to important insights that can help you boost sales and fine-tune your layout.

In a nutshell, taking advantage of new ways of using video surveillance can give you the edge you need to boost sales and productivity.

To learn more about the benefits of business CCTV, and how Data Installers can ensure you get the best possible return on any investment you make in it, contact us today.

The Forgotten Security Threats That May Threaten Your Business

About a decade ago, if you mentioned business security to people they would immediately start thinking about alarm systems, deadbolts and maybe even guard dogs.

Mention business security today and it’s more likely that logical security comes to mind; data breech prevention, cyber threat management, that kind of thing. And logical security is very important. Read more

Network Musts for Serious Gamers

You’re broadcasting a Fortnite session on Twitch and everything is going great: chat flowing in the sidebar; crystal-clear graphics on the stream.

But then your Internet acts wonky. Everything feels delayed, like a long-distance phone call. Before you know it, you’re looking at this:

It’s more than annoying, but what can you do? With Google’s Stadia just weeks away, and the next version of the Xbox planned as a streaming service no serious gamer wants to think their Internet setup will knock them out of the action.

And while bandwidth, latency, lag and other ISP related issues come into play your basic gamer’s network set up is hugely important as well. And that’s what we will look at here.

Important Features for Gaming Routers

Operating with a high-quality router makes the gaming experience much easier and helps prevent that dreaded Twitch screen of death. Or getting dropped offline right as you were about to make a big kill.

While there are gaming-specific routers on the market, any high-end router can provide the same quality of connections as long as you know what features to look for.

Here are the factors that matter for serious gaming:

Gigabit Ethernet Ports

Ethernet trumps wireless connections for fighting latency — but that doesn’t do you any good if your router’s ethernet ports can’t handle the bandwidth you’re paying for. Gigabit ethernet ports are ‘future-proof’ and ensure high performance when you wire in.

Qos / Network Prioritization

QoS and network prioritization don’t matter that much for the average Internet user, but for gamers it can make a serious difference in network lag.

Even if you’re the only person using your network, multiple devices can quickly bog down your bandwidth. Every smartphone, laptop, and streaming device has a footprint. Without QoS, routers don’t have a way to determine which device deserves priority and treat each equally.

QoS is delivered in two different ways: manual and automated. Automated is ideal and a common feature on high-end 802.11ac routers. Manual QoS usually has a less noticeable effect on network performance and involves tinkering with the settings for various devices on the network yourself.

Dual-Band

Not all gaming consoles can be hooked up to Ethernet, we get that. If you game wirelessly then you should invest in a dual band router. These routers boost network speed for gaming devices with 802.11ac Wi-Fi capability by moving slower devices onto a separate channel to free up bandwidth.

Even if you plug in to an Ethernet connection, dual-band can take a load off your network and make your newer devices run faster. It also cuts interference in apartment buildings and dorms, where you’re likely competing for bandwidth with a dozen other Wi-Fi networks on the same channel.

Optimize your Router

You can improve home network performance for gaming by making small tweaks to your router whichever model you choose. Here are some universal tips to boost your router’s performance:

Always Wire When Possible

Wi-Fi connections are fickle and prone to interference. Ethernet cables are cheap and effective at maintaining stable low-latency connections. Even if you don’t have gigabit ethernet ports on your router, wiring in can solve problems like latency and signal loss that suck the fun out of your gaming experience.

Position Properly

If you’re a WiFi gamer , a quick fix for latency issues is to make sure you’re close enough to the router to get a strong signal. Also make sure there isn’t anything next to the router (walls, microwaves, etc.) that could interfere with the signal.

Routers work best when positioned in the center of a room — ideally near the center of the broadcast area, away from corners, closets, and thick walls.

If positioning your router properly isn’t an option, external directional antennas attached to the router can offset the problem.

Serious Gamers May Need Extra Help

If you are one of the growing number of people monetizing your Twitch streams, or gaming competitively on a higher level than most, then to stay in the game you may need extra help.

Data Installers can help. We can help you create a network that supports your increased gaming needs and will ‘future proof’ it for all the innovations that are coming in the next twelve months in the gaming world. Contact us to learn more.

Understanding the Important of Expert WiFi Network Design for Healthcare Facilities

WiFi is ever changing. It fluctuates throughout the day, in response to the environment it serves. As users, devices and applications drop in and off of the network, the performance of your WiFi will be affected, sometimes leading to slower downloading / uploading speeds and occasionally network outages.

In hospitals, clinics and medical centers it is very common to have multiple floors, concrete walls, drop ceilings, large numbers personal devices, and important medical applications executing commands throughout the day and night. This makes for a very complex design and a difficult to manage wireless network environment that can prove quite the challenge for even the most seasoned IT exec.

It is less of a challenge however if the wireless network itself was properly and carefully designed. This is something we have done many times in the years we’ve been in business. Read on to see what may be causing WiFi performance issues in your environment, and how a redesigned wireless network can solve them.

Capacity

The unique thing about a hospital wireless environment, is that it is occupied 24/7 and times and capacity can be unpredictable or hard to gauge. Most urgent care centers operate on a 24/7 basis too, and doctors have been extending their office hours too. This means that there is rarely a time when your wireless networks are not being called into action.

For this reason, it is important to create a ‘full-proof’ wifi network, designed to accommodate high density in all areas, a wide range and large number of wireless devices, and a variety of users. Designing for capacity is the first step toward creating an easier- to – manage wifi network. Here are some of the things that have to be taken into consideration when doing that.

Density

The busiest areas of a clinic or hospital change throughout the day (and night) and can change very quickly too.

Some areas are easier to plan for than others. Waiting rooms, nurses’ stations and cafeterias are likely to be busy much of the time, and filled with devices demanding access to the wifi network. Other areas, like hallways, patient rooms, and courtyards can be harder to predict.

This makes managing the network a potential nightmare. Not only does fluctuation or unpredictable density make it harder to locate and troubleshoot wifi problems, it can make it physically difficult to fix the problem. It’s not always so easy to manage an access point that’s in the middle of a busy hallway or bustling waiting room.

In a hospital environment, maybe than in any other industry, designing for max capacity is a must. This ensures that no matter what the case, your faculty, staff and patients have reliable, secure wireless connectivity, so that your healthcare services are optimal and patients are getting the best care and experience possible.

Devices

Another unique feature of a healthcare environment wireless network, is the sheer number of wireless devices trying to connect the network. Accounting for all of those devices and making sure that they are connecting properly is a big challenge for the IT team in charge of managing the network.

Take into consideration too, the number of health-related devices and applications that have emerged over the last decade. While these advancements have proved invaluable, they have created complex issues for wireless network technology and management.

So if it’s been over three or four years since your wireless network was deployed, the chances are that you have started experiencing WiFi performance issues. To stay ahead of the increasing number and quality of devices, we recommend it that you plan to refresh your wireless network every 48 months.

The latest wifi technology also includes a lot of new tools like performance monitoring sensors and live-time feedback that will drastically improve wifi management.

Segmentation

Another problem with managing hospital wifi networks, is how to keep all those devices, users and applications separate. If you have only one network, all of your users and devices are being treated equally by your access points and firewalls. That means Mary streaming YouTube videos in the waiting room is getting the same treatment as the doctors and nurses relying on the network for essential communication and life-saving applications.

Segmenting your traffic into different networks allows you to assign different permissions to different users and devices. We commonly refer this to as Role-based Access Control. Implementing RBAC not only improves performance of all your wireless devices, allowing you to prioritize important devices like life-saving IoT or staff communication devices, but also provides heightened security so that all of your users and private information are protected.

Coverage

Managing a healthcare wireless network has many challenges relating to capacity, but that’s just half of the story. The other problems you may face in regulating your wifi probably relate to coverage.

Every environment is different. The number or floors and buildings may vary. The coverage needs for outdoor spaces like atriums, dining areas and courtyards needs to be considered. The square footage and building materials are big factors for determining coverage needs.

Answering these questions correctly is essential to creating the best WiFi design for your unique coverage area and ultimately giving you the best chances at managing your network efficiently.

So what solves all these challenges? A well-designed wifi network backed by experienced professionals who do this stuff every day, and have for years. Experienced professionals like the team at Data Installers.

How an IVR System Boosts Customer AND Employee Satisfaction

The field of customer service via a phone contact center is constantly changing. But one thing remains a constant. An efficient IVR is one of the best ways to both boost customer satisfaction and employee retention. And IVR can be helpful to even the smallest businesses.

Don’t have an IVR because you are not sure that’s the case? Here are just some reasons why investing in an IVR system is a winning idea.

Better Call Routing

IVR is an extremely powerful tool for routing customers when they call your brand. It allows them to bypass menu options that they do not need, and it enables them to speak their responses or enter them from a keypad so that they are routed quickly to the place they need to be. It’s a convenience that busy consumers love and your overworked employees will appreciate too.

Time – and Sanity – Saving Assistance

An IVR system can be a timesaver for both agents and customers. It can also prevent a lot of frustration. You can set the system up to help customers self-serve if they have simple requests. This ensures that they do not wait to speak to an agent for the answer to an otherwise quick question.

You can make contact center agents available to customers with more difficult requests, and more employees will be free to take these calls when IVR steps in to handle the easier tasks. You put your employees under less stress, and the same is true for your customers.

Greater Brand Accessibility When Your Business is Closed

If your company cannot offer 24/7 customer support – and that is the case for many businesses – an IVR can greatly increase your perceived hours of availability. For requests that can be handled through self-service, an IVR system is ideal as it may empower customers to obtain information when your agents are not there to take calls.

Get More (Useful) Feedback

It’s always a great idea to ask for customer feedback immediately following a call. However, many customers don’t feel comfortable giving such information directly to the agent, and sending the customer a survey on another channel is not the most efficient way to earn their participation.

This is where IVR can help. After they have completed a call you can give the customer the option of answering a brief survey powered by an IVR system. This way, customers can express their honest opinions easily on the same channel of contact.

How NOT To Set Up Your Small Business WiFi

There are all kinds of obstacles many small to medium-size businesses face when trying to provide secure small business WiFi, including cost, performance, and security. Increasingly failure to overcome these challenges and meet their customers’ WiFi needs means businesses in all kinds of niches will struggle to remain competitive.

Here’s some real world examples. According to a report, almost half of all shoppers say that availability of in-store WiFi influences their decisions on where to shop. Similarly, in the hospitality industry, free WiFi is the number one amenity guests are looking for when choosing a hotel, or, as we mentioned in a recent post, even an Airbnb lodging.

Customers, diners, shoppers, and guests nowadays have the same expectations for easy, efficient WiFi no matter where they go, so companies of all sizes need to step up their WiFi game.

But for many smaller concerns, or those who are forced to stick to rigid budgets, such as schools and non-profits, the challenge of providing great small business wifi can seem like one that may be beyond their reach. And they make some mistakes along the way that not only diminish the quality of the wifi they offer – thus frustrating their customers – but also end up costing them money in the long run.

Here is a look at some of the most common (so that you can avoid them.)

Skimping on The Router

It’s a scenario that we commonly see in bars, restaurants, retail stores and more, all places that really do need great WiFi to please their customers; choosing the wrong router for their WiFi network.

“I bought a wifi router at Best Buy that works great in my house. Let’s buy the same one for our business!”

Also known as SOHO (Single Office, Home Office) gear, consumer networking devices have come a long way in recent years. And some home router solutions do have features that make it almost look like it could work in an enterprise-grade WiFi scenario. Plus, it’s less expensive than enterprise-grade equipment, which makes it very tempting.

But in every area that matters—capacity, stability, security, and more—consumer networking gear can’t perform at the level required by an enterprise-grade network. It’s just not designed to. The investment in an enterprise quality router is just one that has to be made.

Failing to Get Proper Professional WiFi Design and Installation

If you head to online portals like Amazon or New Egg you will find that you can buy enterprise grade routers suitable for small businesses there. And if you read the product listings many of them will claim they are easy to install and many are from big names like Cisco (or seem to be, most are actually third party sellers).

Dig a little deeper though. Read some (many) of the customer reviews. Security packages were missing. The buyer did not know how to configure it, or it did not work with the existing systems they had in place. And those are just a few of the issues!

Every business needs a WiFi system that is designed and installed to meet their unique and specific needs and that will provide the fast, secure WiFi they need. And unless your company boasts a dedicated IT department, which most small businesses do not, then you should call in the professionals, even if the initial outlay is a little more.

Failing to Realize the Importance of WiFi Maintenance

“Our network is up and running, so our work here is done! High fives all around!”

Once you’ve set up your wireless network, the project is not over. After it’s up and running, it will only stay that way if you follow the three Ms: Monitor, Manage, and Measure.

Possibly the most important component of your network is having the right WiFi services process in place. This will allow you to monitor everything you’ve just installed, manage those components (keep things up to date, etc.), and measure the performance of your network from the end users’ perspective.

Everything on your WiFi network is alive and every component changes, from the devices accessing your network to the RF environment itself. The reality is, you’re never really done—unless you prefer a network that over time becomes slower, less secure, and finally, obsolete.

4 Ways Restaurants, Bars and Cafes Need to Utilize Technology

Technology is transforming businesses in all niches, even in one as established as the restaurant, bar and cafe niche. Yes, the concept of going out for a nice meal is one that is centuries old but to remain competitive 21st century eateries increasingly need to incorporate technology into their ‘recipe for success’.

Here’s a look at some of the most important of the high-tech innovations any bar, restaurant, or cafe should consider for their establishment.

Expanded Online Service Options

The eatery that does not have a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter and an Instagram these days is at a serious disadvantage. However, these are not the only things that restaurants, cafes and bars should use the Internet for.

Online ordering and/or online reservation booking is a convenience that customers are coming to expect and to keep pace with competition these are things that any establishment should offer.

Advanced Payment Technologies

The world has been slowly moving away from cash as the main form of payment currency for some time now and that move to ‘plastic payments’ is expanding from credit and debit cards to include digital payment options such as PayPal, Apple Pay and more. Customers are increasingly expecting that these payment methods be accepted by the businesses they frequent regularly, including their favorite eateries.

More Efficient Dining Room to Kitchen Communication

Have you ever watched British chef Gordon Ramsay’s show ‘Kitchen Nightmares’? Chances are if you are in the hospitality industry you have at least once or twice, even if only out of curiosity.

All the eateries Ramsay sets out to rescue have unique problems, but regular viewers know that terrible dining room to kitchen communications are often one of the areas in which all of the struggling establishments need desperately to improve. And while Ramsay and crew can’t be dispatched to every restaurant, bar or cafe in Southern California – and you probably wouldn’t want them to be – there is a growing arsenal of tech solutions available that can improve service, efficiency and customer satisfaction dramatically.

Providing a More Connected Dining Experience

Restaurant customers – and those who frequent bars and cafes – are starting to request and/or expecting more technologically integrated dining experiences.

They want free wi-fi for their phones and laptops, they want to be able to watch the big game in 4K hi-def technicolor, or to hear their favorite music in crystal clear Dolby surround sound.

Eating out or on the go in the 21st century is no longer a passive experience, consumers want to be entertained and accommodated at a level that often only an investment in technology can provide.

Upgrading your business’ technologies to meet these new ‘standards’ will call for an investment in terms of hardware, software and, of course, cash. That’s the ‘bad’ news. The good news is that these outlays will almost certainly reap a good return on your investment no matter how large or small your establishment is.

Guest WiFi Musts for Would Be Airbnb Superhosts

Airbnb is changing the way people travel, but it is also creating sometimes very lucrative additional incomes for homeowners everywhere, including across Southern California.

As many an experienced Host knows however, it’s the amenities that an Airbnb provides are what makes the guest experience complete and earns you that much coveted Super Host status. And while free coffee and tea, and spa like shampoo sets are nice, there is one amenity that is statistically the most sought after, no matter what the destination.

You guessed it: guest WiFi.

For hosts, guest WiFi is an inexpensive investment which needs very little care or maintenance. For guests, on the other hand, it can be the reason they choose your property over one of your competitors’.

Recently however there have been a number of news stories warning travellers of the dangers of Airbnb WiFi. Therefore, being able to demonstrate that you offer a secure, safe WiFi connection can once gain give you an edge over the competition.

Here is what you can do to ensure cyber security for your Airbnb guests.

Secure Your Network

You don’t need to be a tech expert to secure your WiFi network for incoming guests (although there is no shame in calling one in if you feel more comfortable doing so.)

Here, however are some basics if you want to try it yourself:

Access Your Router Configuration

Before anything else, you will need access to your WiFi router configuration dashboard. To do this, first connect your own device i.e. laptop to the WiFi network using a physical ethernet cable.

Launch your preferred internet browser (we like Google Chrome)

Enter your router’s IP address. It’s likely it will be similar to this: 192.168.0.1

Press enter

A screen will appear asking for the administrator user and password. Input the correct details and hit enter

You’ll now be looking at the configuration dashboard.

Change Router Passwords

One of the easiest, most immediate things you can do to protect guests online is change your router passwords to make it more difficult for others to gain access. Once you’re inside the configuration dashboard, change the password to make it stronger. Use a mix of letters, numbers and symbols, and avoid using common words or personal information.

Change the Network Name

Most routers come with a default name, related to the brand or provider. While changing your preset network name will not necessarily add another level of security for your guests, it will help improve usability and ease when accessing the network. Change the name to something that your guests will easily recognize–such as your vacation rental brand name.

Create an Encrypted Guest Wi-Fi Network

Creating a guest WiFi network will not only limit who can access the internet connection to begin with, but it will also prevent any unauthorized users from entering. This helps to protect guests (and yourself) from hackers or other security risks.

Most routers will allow you to change the keys of the network after every set of guests depart, which will restrict their access so they can’t connect to your WiFi anymore.

You can even go one step further and have the guest WiFi network turn off after a specific time. That way, if you know guests are checking out at 10am, they’ll immediately lose internet access at that time and it may even prompt stragglers to hurry up a little, so that you can send in your cleaning crew to prepare for the next guests.

Connect Smart Devices to the Guest WiFi Network

If you have smart home devices in your vacation rental, connect them to your guest WiFi network instead of your primary network. This helps to reduce the potential damage should one of the devices become compromised in terms of security.

Store Your Router Out of Sight

It only takes one guest to tamper with your router, and they could steal the data of hundreds of other guests and spy on their internet activity. Prevent this from happening by storing away your router in a safe place, out of guest reach. For example, in a locked cupboard or cabinet.

Keep All Firmware Up to Date

It’s important to keep your router up-to-date to maintain the highest levels of security, so be sure to install new firmware whenever it becomes available. Check this by logging into your admin dashboard (the same way as changing the password) to see if new updates are ready to be installed.

Wi-Fi 6 is Coming – But What Does That Mean?

Wi-Fi is on the brink of a major update: 802.11ax, also known as “WiFi 6”. For devices which include the new standard – and its required hardware), this means big improvements–so long as the network it’s connected to supports it.

To understand what Wi-Fi 6 means for you, let’s look back on how we got to what we have now, and then the challenges WiFi 6 is attempting to overcome, and how it has the potential to change everyone’s mobile lifestyle, both personally and professionally.

In the Beginning

Today we take being instantly and almost constantly connected to the Internet for granted. However, some of us remember a time when it was not like that at all (and cringe when we do so.)

In the early days of the Internet – for those who may not remember – if you wanted to get online you’d walk over to the family computer, wait what seemed like an age while it booted up, then dial-up your ISP to get on the internet. After another minute or so of dialing, beeps and boops, squawks and squeals, culminating in a ball of static and a sometimes a friendly voice telling you that “You’ve got mail!”

Dialup was painfully slow (in the range of 57kbps at its peak), and tied up your phone line all the while. So everyone else in the house got mad with you. If you wanted to listen to music, you’d have to download an .MP3 file – which would take at least 10 minutes for an average song.

The next steps along the way were ISDN, T1, T3, and other types of “always on” connections, but their price and limited availability kept them mostly reserved to schools and businesses.

Laptops were becoming increasingly popular, as were “little” pocket-sized devices called Personal Digital Assistants. The downside to both was their need for a wire to connect to anything. Your PDA could send and receive email, but only via a “sync” process when connected to your computer. Your laptop could only access the Internet when plugged in to an Ethernet cable.

Then all of that changed

It was the late 1990’s and a new technology had just been standardized: 802.11a.

No, it wasn’t a memorable name, but it allowed a person with a laptop or even a PDA to pop in a device about the size of a stack of credit cards, and connect to a “wireless network” at work, school, and some high-end libraries. Wi-Fi was born.

Soon after 802.11b arrived and brought with it faster speeds, but the two versions of Wi-Fi weren’t compatible with each other. You would need an 802.11a card for the office, and an 802.11b card at home. The two standards operated on different frequencies and at different speeds. Eventually, manufacturers built cards which could connect to networks on either standard to help with the confusion and with the cost and inconvenience of needing two cards.

Wireless standards progressed with 802.11g, 802.11n, and finally 802.11ac. To complicate things, some versions of Wi-Fi support 2.4GHz while others support 5GHz. Some support both. There was even an update to 802.11a to add part of the 3.7GHz spectrum, if the device supports it. And now Wi-Fi 6 will be here by the end of the year.

What are the Benefits of Wi-Fi 6?

Just like every new phone when compared to the previous generation, the new one is “faster”, “smaller”, “uses less power”/“longer battery life”, etc Wi-Fi 6 promises to be better in all the following ways:

  • Higher data rates
  • Increased capacity
  • Better performance in environments with many connected devices
  • Improved power efficiency

One of the ways that Wi-Fi 6 is really supposed to make a difference is boosting the efficiency of the ‘Internet of Things’. That means home assistant devices like the Amazon Echo and the Google Home.

It is also something that gaming companies are banking on to help them as both Google and Microsoft prepare to launch ambitious streaming only gaming platforms that will need to be powered by some very efficient Wi-Fi. Finally it should also help businesses who offer Wi-Fi to their customers improve that offering.

According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, the non-profit overseer of the Wi-Fi world, Wi-Fi 6 will roll out ‘later in 2019’. That will highly likely be towards the very end of the year but we’ll keep you updated here as we learn more.