Infographic: The Wireless Challenge for the Hospitality Sector
Meeting guest’s needs and expectations are the core concern for any hospitality environment. With people being more mobile than ever, reliable and accessible wireless connectivity are not different than room service or room cleaning.
Zebra’s wide offering of wireless access points and controllers allow you to create a network that is designed to meet your specific needs no matter the size of your application. Keep customers happy while empowering your workforce with a wireless network that works for you.
Zebra Launches WiNG 5.8
Zebra has announced the launch of the WiNG 5.8 software release. WiNG 5.8 is a major software release for the WLAN portfolio of products delivering a variety of new features and capabilities including: Zebra NSight –a new network visualization engine with rich analytics that makes it easier than ever to manage and troubleshoot your WLAN; Application Visibility and Control (AVC) to give you complete control over the applications that are running on your WLAN and fine-tune/rate-limit based on the business need; a full-featured Guest access solution with self-registration, support for social media login credentials for guest access and large data-store for guest user profile; Mobile extension enhancements for better wireless experience for Zebra mobile devices; Centralized EX-3500 switch management through NX.
In addition, 5.8 release supports following new hardware platforms
Case Study: Using High-Speed Communications to Improve Paradise
SITUATION
Due to an outdated communications infrastructure and inefficient public and guestroom Wi-Fi access, the Grand Hyatt Kauai’s guest satisfaction ratings were dropping.
Although one of Hyatt’s showcase resort properties, the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa was struggling with low guest satisfaction scores in its high-speed Internet service. The property’s outdated frame relay and microwave system was constantly going down during heavy rainstorms, requiring numerous resources— including helicopter service—and up to two weeks to fix problems. In addition, Wi-Fi service in guest rooms was slow, inconsistent and unreliable, especially during high occupancy periods like the holiday season.
SOLUTION
Working with a new service provider and using Zebra technology, the Grand Hyatt Kauai successfully completed the upgrade before the 2012 holiday season.
The Grand Hyatt Kauai worked with island-based systems integrator Pacific DirectConnect, a company highly experienced in the use of Zebra’s leading edge wireless technology. The team installed a high-speed wireless network using Zebra indoor Access Points (APs) and three-port wall plates in guestrooms, outdoor APs for property-wide roaming and an RF Switch (RFS) controller for consistent, reliable coverage everywhere on the resort. The system enables the resort to communicate with Wi-Fi-enabled devices, and the Hyatt corporate platform.
Zebra’s WiNG Smart RF Wireless Networking
WiNG (Wireless Infrastructure Next Generation) is at the heart of every Zebra wireless LAN and distributes intelligence to every access point and controller– so every Access Point (AP) can act as the virtual controller if necessary. SMART RF (Self Monitoring At Run Time) is built into the WiNG architecture found in all of Zebra’s access points and controllers making it easy to find the right hardware to meet your needs.
By automating many routine network tasks, it saves businesses time and resources – there’s no need for dedicated IT staff to manage the network. It’s like having an in-built RF engineer – the network tests and calibrates itself, reports problems and fixes faults before anyone is aware of them.
Organizations both large and small are increasingly dependent on mobile workers. In turn, those mobile workers rely on wireless networks. Problem is, planning and deploying wireless networks is difficult and time-consuming. And as new users and applications are added, managing and operating a wireless network becomes increasingly difficult.
Empowering Your WLAN to Deliver a Better Guest Experience
The Challenge: Supporting a Major Increase of in-Store Wireless Applications — and a New Generation of WI-FI
Today’s wireless LAN (WLAN) is more than a network. It has become a critical business tool that helps retailers of all sizes improve the customer experience and associate efficiency. But wireless technologies and wireless initiatives have continued to evolve, pressuring the WLAN you have today and presenting numerous challenges:
Shoppers’ expect high-performance in-store Wi-Fi access
When today’s shoppers step into your store, they expect you to provide complimentary access to the store’s Wi-Fi network. They are looking to help control their cellular data fees and eliminate the connection issues that can occur inside a retail store. But providing guest access creates several issues:
- Ease of access – You need to be able to allow shoppers to easily sign in to access your WLAN
- Security – You need to be able to keep your network secure, despite the fact that you are offering open public access to your WLAN
- Next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi support – The fifth generation of Wi-Fi is here. Analysts are predicting critical mass in just a few short years — in 2015 — and your customers are already buying 802.11ac-enabled mobile devices. You need to make sure that shoppers who have upgraded to these next-generation Wi-Fi devices can still access your WLAN
- Performance expectations – You need to provide your shoppers with dependable high-performance Wi-Fi connections — despite major and unpredictable fluctuations in the number of users and traffic on the WLAN
Zebra’s WiNG Express – Infographic
In today’s mobile-centric world, having reliable and secure wireless connectivity is expected from every business. From employees to customers, the vast majority of computing is done on mobile devices, smartphones, and tablets which require a robust network capable of providing constant connectivity.
The greatest challenge most small and mid-sized business faced in the past was the costs involved in providing an effective wireless network. In the past, this caused many businesses to compromise the performance and security of their network for cost savings.
Lucky for all of us, Zebra’s WiNG Express product line provides high WLAN performance and advanced security features normally found in enterprise-level applications at a fraction of the cost and time to deploy. Simply power up your access points and they will automatically be discovered and provisioned with pre-defined configurations you then easily manage from an intuitive and simple-to-grasp interface.
With WiNG Express you can provide your business with the wireless network it needs today and into the future without making any compromises.
Virtual Controllers – Controller-like Management without Paying for a Controller
There is no doubt that the advent of the WLAN controller was one of the greatest advancements ever for wireless networks. But the next best thing is being able to have that functionality without paying for the hardware or licensing!
Wait. What? You can still have zero-touch deployment, central management, and analytics of a wireless network without any additional costs other than the APs? For small networks, YES!
Enter the Virtual Controller! Aruba Networks and Motorola/Symbol Technologies have made this possible for deployments of 25 or less access points. Simply assign one of your Aruba Instant or Symbol/Motorola WiNG5 Access Points as a Virtual Controller and it will automatically adopt new APs as you add them to your network. and configure them for you! While there are some advanced features missing compared to a full controller solution, the bulk of the features are still there to help manage and troubleshoot your network!
