Wi fi Business Advantages

In today's world, business is increasingly driven by computer technology and the Internet and it is important to understand how Wi-Fi business advantages affect you.

Wi-Fi is a method of accessing the Internet or a private network from your computer using radio waves rather than a physical cable. A more technical definition of the term, which is an abbreviation of "wireless fidelity", is: "A term developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to describe wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards." Equipment bearing the Wi-Fi logo have been certified to standards set by the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Access Point: A transmitting/receiving device that allows access to a wireless network. Also known as a base station.

Bluetooth: A special type of Wi-Fi designed for distances under 30 feet.

Hot Spot: An area covered by a wireless network. This term is usually reserved for remote locations such as coffee shops rather than the office's WLAN.

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy): A older, less secure method of limiting access to a wireless network. A more robust method is WPA.

WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network): A wireless network that covers a limited area such as an office building.

WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access): A newer method of limiting access to a wireless network, designed to address the security flaws in WEP.

• Widespread Coverage: The Wi-Fi network allows access from anywhere in the building. This allows an employee to take a laptop from an office to the conference room without losing network connectivity. It gives access to network resources without needing to hunt around for a free computer.

• Offsite Access: More and more Wi-Fi hotspots are appearing in airports, hotels, coffee shops, and restaurants. Some cities are installing municipal wireless networks that allow access anywhere within the city limits. Employees who are traveling to meet with clients can have access to company resources and email wherever they are.

• More Efficient Employees: Employees, particularly those who travel, are less likely to experience dead time when they cannot work. It allows employees to better balance their work and personal lives by giving them more options on when and where they can work.

Despite all of the Wi-Fi business advantages there are also some important disadvantages over a traditional wired network.

• Security: This is the most important potential problem with a wireless network. It is important enough that it merits its own section below.

• Range: The wireless signal extends several hundred feet from the base station, but this range is greatly curtailed by obstructions and interference. In an office environment, interior walls will likely limit the range to less than 100 feet, and an exterior wall may block the signal completely. In a large office, this will require multiple base stations laid out to cover the entire office.

• Interference: Some electronic equipment can interfere with radio waves and disrupt your Wi-Fi network. The biggest problems come from microwaves and cell phones.

Before installing a wireless network you must have a security plan in place. Although there are substantial Wi-Fi business advantages, an unsecured network is an open door to your confidential business information. Securing a network is not difficult.

The original security standard for Wi-Fi networks was Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). This method offered three barriers to intrusion:

• Requires users to know the network identity known as the Service Set Identifier (SSID);
• Requires users to have a static key or password for encryption;
• Limits access only to specific network devices as identified by their MAC addresses.

Since its introduction, however, methods have been discovered that allow an intruder to bypass these security barriers easily. WEP still is an effective deterrent to the casual intruder and may be adequate for small office/home office (SOHO) networks. It is useless against someone with a moderate amount of network security knowledge and will not adequately protect larger networks.

A much more robust security model is Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). WPA was designed specifically to address the security flaws in WEP and has proven to be a very effective deterrent even to the most dedicated intruder. Most Wi-Fi equipment supports WPA although both client computers and wireless access points may require software upgrades to enable WPA.

Security also needs to be in place on the computers accessing a wireless network, whether at the office or at a remote hotspot. Any computer with Wi-Fi capability should have an active firewall as well as virus and spyware scanners.

This technology is becoming more widespread and may be an important resource for your business. Consider carefully both the Wi-Fi business advantages and disadvantages before deciding if this technology is something your business should invest in.

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