Wireless local area networks (WLANs) enable mobile computer users to connect to a corporate network through Wi-Fi technology, something that is slowly starting to catch on in South Africa.
Although Wi-Fi hot spots have existed for several years, issues such as security and connectivity speed have seen many organisations keeping this technology at arm’s length. Now, as the need to increase productivity and mobility continues apace, South Africa is witnessing a broader move towards the use of WLANs.
According to Grant Eksteen, product manager for hosting and wireless networks at T-Systems South Africa, wireless networking is rapidly developing as a technology and becoming more and more prevalent in organisations in South Africa and around the globe.
“The beauty of this technology is that it allows a company’s workforce to be mobile within the office campus, rather than being tied to a desk,” he says. “By virtue of the fact that it enables employees to work from anywhere within the campus, wireless networking increases employee productivity and decreases the cost of providing network connectivity.”
He says that although things are changing, the uptake of WLAN technology — and its incorporation into company IT strategy in a South African context — has, to date, been slow.
“Security in wireless connectivity is the one critical factor that needs to be considered by businesses before going ahead with any implementation of this type of technology, which is one of the key factors behind the slow uptake,” says Eksteen.
“The irony is that the much of the slow uptake of WLANs is due to security concerns within the organisation, and yet because it is so slow many organisations are finding that both normal employees and even IT staff (who should know better) are implementing their own, unsecured wireless networks, thereby opening security holes in the company’s network.”
He points out that security options that secure WLAN infrastructure from attack are available today. What is sorely needed is a way of educating organisations to be aware of the threats that exist, as well as the security options available to them to mitigate these threats.
“The other very real problem affecting WLANs is the fact that the 2.4 gigahertz space — the spectrum used by Wi-Fi — is an unlicensed band, leading to some service providers using this technology to provide wide area networks.”
He says this can lead to the spectrum becoming saturated in certain areas, posing problems for companies wishing to make use of Wi-Fi bridges within their own campuses.
“Ultimately, the effectiveness of a WLAN to improve productivity and impact the company’s bottom line rests on whether the connectivity speed is fast enough. If the spectrum is saturated, Wi-Fi cannot really help companies to achieve their aims any more than any other technology can,” he concludes.