“Ruckus Unleashed access points level the playing field for local retailers, coffee shops, and restaurants, helping them to deliver a high-quality Wi-Fi experience for customers and employees with much lower total cost of ownership,” said Dan Rabinovitsj, Ruckus’ chief operating officer. “We’re excited to help small business owners make high-performance Wi-Fi affordable and simple to install and maintain.”
Ruckus Unleashed is immediately available with two models of Ruckus access points – ZoneFlexTM R500 Unleashed and ZoneFlex R600 Unleashed access points – priced at $645 and $795, respectively. The Unleashed version of these access points are similar to the standard R500 and R600, meaning customers receive the controller at no additional cost. Each access point delivers industry-leading Wi-Fi performance at extended ranges for up to 512 simultaneously connected devices.
Unleashed access points have built-in controller capabilities similar to Ruckus’ ZoneDirectorTM controller software, including user access controls, guest networking functions, advanced Wi-Fi security and traffic management. Ruckus Unleashed access points can manage up to 25 access points as part of a single-site network. As businesses grow to multiple sites, Ruckus offers an easy migration path to controller-based Wi-Fi, using the same Wi-Fi access points.
“Smart devices are playing a critical role in influencing consumer decisions and behaviors,” said Nolan Greene, IDC Research Analyst, Network Infrastructure. “Wi-Fi connectivity has become an absolute requirement for customers and employees of small businesses, but business owners are often challenged to provide reliable, business-grade networks within a limited budget. A solution like Ruckus Unleashed access points can provide accessible enterprise-grade functionality to small and medium businesses.”
“The small business market has been under-addressed by the Wi-Fi industry for a decade,” said Gary Berzack, CTO/COO at eTribeca, a New York-based system integrator. “In the past, small deployments required a controller to get features such as Guest Access or BYOD on-boarding and still not get the performance for best user experience. With Ruckus’ controller-less solution, small business owners can get high-performance and reliable Wi-Fi solution even if they have less than 10 access points -- without having to pay for a fifty access point design.”