Flexible working is fast becoming the hot topic in office space. Offices now come complete with elaborate break out areas, collaboration points and informal meeting spaces. BYOD is also on the rise with some startling statistics warning that not only is BYOD here to stay, it is increasingly popular.

With this rise in new working habits, and the prevalence of Wi-Fi and 4G outside of the office, people now quite reasonably assume that their workplace will be Wi-Fi enabled. However this is rarely the case within business centres. Although there have been Wi-Fi options available for some time, it has been expensive to architect solutions properly, and there hasn’t been sufficient appetite to persuade most operators to bite.Things are changing though. We are now fast approaching the point where rather than a ‘value-add’, Wi-Fi is becoming a ‘must-have’. Business centres have to offer Wi-Fi solutions to stay competitive. This change represents an opportunity for business centres, not just to offer a more advanced technology solution, but to upsell their premium connectivity packages. 

So what options are out there for business centres looking for Wi-Fi?
 
Wireless Access Points
 
This is a fairly rudimentary setup, involving placing single wireless access points around a business centre. It is a cheap way of providing wireless access and only really appropriate for individual company requests for Wi-Fi.
 
Controller Wi-Fi
 
In order to provide an integrated wireless network, a controller is needed. This is a device that allows management of multiple access points from a central location. Benefits include:

• Dedicated, secure network for each tenant
• Automatic connection to the strongest signal throughout the building
• Remote management
• Dedicated ‘guest’ network
• Plug & play for additional or replacement devices
• No monthly cost

This is a great solution, however it can be expensive to setup and scale. It is still the best solution for the largest of centres.
 
Controller-less Wi-Fi
 
A new solution to the business centre market is controller-less Wi-Fi. By taking the intelligence off the controller, and placing it on each individual access point, it is possible to offer all the same benefits of controller Wi-Fi, with the added benefits of:

• Low entry-level cost
• Linear pricing for scalability
• No single points of failure

Although it has a slightly limited capacity compared to controller Wi-Fi, this an ideal solution for the majority of business centres.
 
Cloud Wi-Fi
 
Being a cloud company, you may expect this to be the option we champion, but in reality most cloud Wi-Fi solutions are over-priced without offering the advantages that usually come hand-in-hand with cloud technology. So on the whole, this probably isn’t the best way forward for most centres.
 
All in all, the rising demand for Wi-Fi in office space is just part of a larger trend in the evolving expectations of what technology should do, and the need for more fluid work environments. Luckily solutions in this realm don’t have to be expensive and needn’t be difficult to implement. So don’t get left behind tangled in wires, ensure your business centre is Wi-Fi enabled.
 
For more information on VTSL, or our business centre offering please click here or email Lee Zweig at lzweig@vtsl.net.