As enterprise mobility has grown, many organisations have struggled to upgrade their wireless networks at the same pace as the proliferation of mobile devices, such as laptops, tablets and smartphones. In fact, three-quarters of IT directors said that they expect their wireless networks to come under even more strain as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) becomes more commonplace.
“The wireless networks that most businesses have in place were not designed to support the sheer number of devices that are now connecting to them,” said Russell Siverland-Bishop, Principal Consultant, Damovo UK & Ireland. “With employees using more and more bandwidth-hungry services such as mobile video, the demand for wireless capacity has rocketed. As mobility continues to play a fundamental role in enabling businesses to operate efficiently, it’s no surprise to see that many IT directors are growing increasingly concerned over the ability of their wireless networks to support the demands upon them.”
With more people and devices now accessing corporate networks, security remains the number one on-going concern over wireless networks, as indicated by more than half (60%) of IT directors taking part in the research. This is followed by concerns over coverage and performance (15%), and having sufficient bandwidth to support new devices and applications (13%). However, despite these concerns, nearly two-thirds of IT directors (65%) confessed that they take an ad-hoc approach to extending or upgrading their wireless networks; adding capacity as and when required, rather than adopting a long-term strategic approach to network planning. As a result, securing wireless networks, improving performance and troubleshooting problems can become an overly time-consuming activity.
“These findings are fairly disquieting; exposing that many businesses are playing catch-up when it comes to managing and planning their wireless networks,” continued Russell Siverland-Bishop. “It’s perhaps not surprising that nearly half (47%) of the IT directors surveyed admitted that they find wireless network management a burden. However, understandable it may be, taking an ad-hoc approach to network planning only compounds the problems; increasing the management burden whilst potentially creating new security weaknesses and performance problems. Businesses cannot afford to remain on the back foot with this ad-hoc approach to network planning. The latest wireless management tools can help IT departments to create a better integrated and centralised platform for their networks. With this approach, they can maintain a secure and reliable wireless infrastructure to support their mobile workforce and keep the business up and running.”
The survey of 100 IT directors at UK organisations across multiple business sectors, and with more than 1,000 employees, was commissioned by Damovo UK & Ireland and conducted by independent research company Vanson Bourne.