Imagine not being tied to a desk, able to take your laptop and your network connectivity with you wherever you need to go in your building.

By using Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), companies can free their employees to move throughout their buildings and campuses while remaining fully connected to their networks and applications. Small, medium or large, all organizations benefit from physical mobility and just like wireless phones, wireless networks provide you even more mobility.

WLANs can lower a company’s infrastructure costs by

• Reducing need to run cable in new buildings or existing facilities – especially valuable in areas where renovation or expansion is planned
• Conserving office space by using wireless networks to “hot desk” mobile users or to accommodate temporary expansions of staff due to peak season or special projects
• Speeding up network deployment, as a wireless network can be rolled out in much less time than a wired network
• Supporting post-9/11 disaster recovery plans, as businesses plan contingencies for possible destruction or damage to wired network systems

Wireless networks operate differently from traditional wired networks. Information packets are transmitted over frequencies through the air along relatively short distances. Because of this there are security issues that must be addressed. Transmissions like this leave wireless networks open to security breaches unless properly designed and secured. Recent surveys suggest that 60 to 90 percent of WLANs are deployed without even the most basic security mechanisms.

Lighthouse Technologies can help you harness the opportunities presented by wireless networking, while managing the associated risk, and can assist in effectively integrating WLANs into your work and information management environments, seamlessly connecting your staff and your applications with your business.

After the decision to leverage the advantages of a wireless network, your first concern must be security. This is not so different than any network implementation – security is always a priority - except that it is all too often neglected and overlooked in the deployment of wireless networks. And like all security issues, once recognized, its management relies on knowing and know-how. Here are some questions to ask as you consider wireless networking:

• Why are we deploying a WLAN?
• Who will be allowed to use the WLAN?
• Where will we allow the WLAN to be deployed?
• Where are we going to position the access points in our infrastructure?
• What data will not be accessible via the WLAN?
• What additional technologies can we use to further secure the WLAN?
• How can we harden the WLAN to make it as difficult as possible to compromise?

Our engineers and field staff have extensive experience with more than 150 customers. Our team can suggest the right wireless networking technology for your company’s needs and goals, install and configure the network, rollout the installation, run security audits to identify potential network security threats and develop and deploy proper safeguards for network security. We can design, develop, deploy and train staff on security policies with specific fit to your organizational structure, your processes and practices and your unique facilities.

Lighthouse Technologies can help you harness the significant business benefits of Wireless Local Area Networks, while effectively managing the risks.