We all love WiFi and, quite frankly, don’t know what we’d do without it. However, while WiFi networks are growing, most enterprises still depend at least somewhat on wired connections as well. These connections might be in place of or in addition to the WiFi.

Do we still need these wired connections, or are they a holdover from an earlier time? Is there a case for an all WiFi network (exempting the wired connections necessary for Access Points (APs))? Let’s take a look.

The Advantages of WiFi Networks

Let’s talk about the pros of WiFi networks first. These include:

• Mobility

WiFi networks – free as they are from wires – keep people connected while they are mobile. Users aren’t tied to their desk, but can review proposals, respond to emails, and use instant messaging to chat with colleagues from anywhere in the office; or the world (see next point).

• Availability

These networks let your users connect from any location with a WiFi signal. This includes from their homes, airports, coffee shops, auditoriums, conference centers…work isn’t interrupted because someone is out of the office.

• Adaptability

WiFi devices can be installed wherever makes the most sense because you don’t have to worry about wires crossing the floor and becoming a tripping hazard. This means that laptops, printers, point-of-sale devices, and other IoT devices can go where you need them, not where wires exist.

• Range

WiFi networks have a wide, although not infinite, range. This range does depend on which frequency band you connect to (for example, the new 6GHz band has a different range than the 5GHz and 2.4GHz frequencies), but you aren’t limited by the length of cable you can connect.

• Scalability

With WiFi, you can effortlessly add or remove devices without needing additional cables or wires.

• Easy installation

Usually, it’s simple enough to install or connect new devices to the network. However, you do have to make sure people aren’t connecting devices without IT’s permission.

The Disadvantages of WiFi Networks

Now, for some negative factors associated with these networks:

• Performance

WiFi networks can be derided by some IT professionals for not providing as great of support for data intensive tasks like video collaboration.

• Interference 

WiFi networks operate in the radio frequency (RF) environment, which is unlicensed spectrum. This means that you don’t control who has access to it; you must share it with any nearby networks or users. Although you can secure your own network, you can’t prevent another business from operating their WiFi network within the same airspace. This is why WiFi networks are susceptible to interference from other WiFi networks and devices, as well as devices that communicate using the same frequency, such as Bluetooth.

• Compatibility

WiFi networks and technologies are not evergreen. Devices and infrastructure must be upgraded to utilize the newest WiFi technologies and standards.

• Security

WiFi networks may need additional security measures to prevent unauthorized access. Hacking a network doesn’t require someone to have a cable and physically connect to your network, but is done through the RF environment.

All Wireless or Not?

Different industries and individual businesses will have their own network needs. For some, it might be easier to switch to an all WiFi network, for others, not so much.

At Wyebot, though, we don’t believe that anyone’s decision should be made because a WiFi network is viewed as inferior and more prone to issues. It doesn’t have to be that way. We’re working to make WiFi (and wired) issues a thing of the past.

How to Make a WiFi Network Problem Free

We don’t have to accept intermittent poor performance as a matter of course. It is possible to cost-effectively optimize WiFi networks, and keep them optimized.

The not-so-secret secret is AI-powered network automation. These solutions automate the detection, notification, and actionable resolutions of issues on both wired and WiFi networks. They proactively spot problems in real time; yes, as soon as issues occur. IT is then notified immediately, often before end users are impacted. 

The result? A significant reduction in the number of WiFi problems, resolution times, and overall network mysteries. Performance improves. Business continuity and operational efficiency are safeguarded. User Experience is boosted.

Did we mention that all this happens within budget? 

Whether your network is 90% WiFi or 53%, AI-powered network automation simply makes sense. WiFi networks are the backbone of most business processes, and wired networks work right alongside them. If these networks aren’t reliable, your business isn’t reliable. 

Move away from reactive, manual, time-consuming problem solving, and step into the future with proactive, automatic, real-time resolutions and optimization. Let the solution keep eyes on your networks at all times, and keep you informed of every device’s performance and behavior, no matter how your networks grow and evolve.

Provide all users – employees, customers, stakeholders – with a reliable, optimal network when you adopt AI–powered network automation. With Wyebot’s vendor-agnostic, plug-and-play solution, enterprises report:

• 90% faster Mean-Time-to-Resolution
• 70% fewer problem tickets
• 80% fewer remote site visits

Ask us about a free demo or trial today.