Naturally companies will always attempt to save money on IT-related expenses, this has happened for as long as the PC industry has existed ! 

Optimizing your wireless network for the minimum spend sounds appealing right?. But be careful. Even if you’re an IT professional,  it's easy to get this wrong when the change of pace in this industry is so fast. 

And if you're just a mere mortal CEO or a finance manager who dabbles  with technology, this won’t be your smartest move — if you’re trying to optimise your wireless network while spending as little money as possible. 

Here we’ll talk you through how to get the best wifi network if you have limited funds. We’ll also explain how to avoid some of the common problems that occur when buying too much of the wrong equipment is purchased and you have limited support skills in your team. 

Any business can afford high-performance, secure WiFi. 

It doesn’t matter what type of business you own or manage. Retail. Education. Leisure, Hospitality, Healthcare, Legal , Recruitment or Industrial 

In this ever-increasing digital world, EVERY business is now a technology business.  

Great Wifi and wireless networks are no longer a luxury , ‘nice to have’.  Fast, reliable, secure Wifi is now a huge Vital to have - for pretty much ALL businesses.  

However, for small businesses, it can be daunting to afford fast, secure WiFi performance.  Technology infrastructure is notoriously expensive – both up front and over time. 

Fortunately, as demand for wireless networking has escalated , forward thinking technology providers have devised solutions to reduce both the initial and ongoing costs to the point where virtually any business — including yours — can afford fast, secure wireless networking performance. 

Buying WiFi vs. Subscribing to a WiFi-as-a-Service 

If having a well-optimized wireless network at a reasonable cost is critical to your business, rethink whether it makes sense to purchase it at all. 

We're not saying that your business doesn’t absolutely need a wirelss network and you should solely rely on cat 5 and cat 6 to every device on your network. Far from it. It would be virtually impossible in these BYOD times of smartphone and tablets. 

What we're saying is you should reconsider the entire "buying" vs. "renting" paradigm. 

Consider why people: 

• Buy homes versus rent
• Purchasecommercial propertyvs. lease 
• Buy cars vs. lease
• Hire a full-time employee vs. a fractional, outsourced equivalent.

Leasing or ‘subscribing to IT infrastructure is not a new concept either. For well over a decade, businesses of all sizes and in virtually every industry have become accustomed to popular Software as a Service (SaaS) applications from companies such as Google, Adobe, Microsoft, and Salesforce. 

The concept is simple and makes good sense. Customers can deploy more quickly, avoid significant upfront costs, completely avoid upgrade headaches, and standardise. 

However, you may be surprised to learn that you can obtain WiFi for your business in the same manner: by subscribing to WiFi as a Service (WaaS). 

Why is a Wifi subscription more appealing than the traditional method of purchasing wireless network infrastructure? There lots of reasons: 

• No more capital expenditures (CapEx) on computer networking hardware
• Managed IT serviceswill reduceyour support costs 
• Faster troubleshooting when problems come up
• PredictableWiFi costs 
• No need to plan or budget for equipment refreshes every few years
• Faster, more reliable, and more secureWiFifor both your employees and your guest WiFi users 

How to Avoid buying too much of the wrong Wifi infrastructure 

Now that you understand the benefits to move away  from purchasing to subscribing to WiFi , there's another significant way to optimise your WiFi while minimising spending: making the optimal WiFi hardware purchase decisions. 

It’s common for businesses to employ or outsource to generalist IT team. They might know a bit but are unlikely have the latest training or product knowledge of cutting edge Wi-Fi solutions.. 

Even in the case of product resellers, a managed service provider (MSP), or a network integrator,  If they do not have a dedicated team of enterprise WiFi experts, their recommendations for wireless design, hardware, software, and support are probably going to be incorrect for your business. 

Therefore, when evaluating your company's options for initial and ongoing wireless networking support, its probably  a smart idea avoid using a generalist company who instal two or three large WiFi networks a year.  

Rather than purchasing an excessive amount of the wrong WiFi equipment, focus on an enterprise wireless networking specialist who has wider experience and can tell you exactly what you need (or don’t need more to the point) 

Avoiding Inexperienced WiFi Engineering Personnel 

Now that we’ve talked about the benefits of subscribing to WiFi rather than purchasing it outright, and how to avoid purchasing too much of the wrong WiFi hardware, we’ve got one last way you can optimise your wireless network while controlling costs: Don’t be your IT departments guinea pig! 

This isn’t always easy for non-IT professionals.  

If you manage a retail store, you understand the importance of hiring the right staff. If you're a Head Teacher, you're probably an expert at recruiting the right Educational staff. If you own a restaurant, you know the skillset needed to  develop, motivate, and manage a world-class kitchen. 

But you’re unlikely to know how to avoid hiring inexperienced WiFi engineering staff. Completely understandable that you wouldn’t know where to begin. 

However, you now know a business who are capable of recruiting, training, and managing a world-class team of enterprise WiFi engineers!  Wow WIFI, have installed hundreds of wireless networks since 2003. 

The Bottom Line: How to Optimise Your Wireless Network Without Spending a Fortune 

Not long ago, investing in a wireless network gave a business a competitive edge. And, just a few years ago, your business was truly cutting-edge if it had a website. Those days, however, are long gone. 

Regardless of your business model or industry, having a super-fast, reliable, and secure wireless network is now a competitive necessity. 

Unless your company is large enough to have an in-house team of enterprise WiFi specialists, designing, installing, supporting, and maintaining a wireless network that meets your company's current and future IT needs is impossible. 

Hopefully you've learned some tips for purchasing WiFi on a budget and how subscribing to a service (WiFi as a Service) can help you save money and alleviate stress in the long run. You've been shown how any business, regardless of size, can afford a fast, secure WiFi network on almost any budget. Additionally, you've seen how to avoid the all-too-common WiFi performance issues associated with classic mistake of purchasing too much of the wrong equipment and designing and deploying it with an inexperienced engineering staff. 

To learn how your business can benefit from a well-optimized wireless network while keeping costs low, contact WowWifi for a consultation.