Reducing IT Costs with Managed Wi-Fi

In this age of digitalisation, it has become almost vital for businesses to have a robust and secure Wi-Fi network for their smooth operations. While managing such an internal setup consumes huge internal resources of IT, organisations that have outsourced their Wi-Fi management to a managed service provider are getting relief from this burden and cut cost on IT. The approach leads to freeing up business operations from those that are not central to it while making improvements in the areas of performance and security of the network.

Understanding the Costs of Traditional Wi-Fi Management

Many organisations underestimate the full expense of managing their own wireless networks. Here's a breakdown of the hidden costs involved.

Hardware and Infrastructure Costs

Traditionally, Wi-Fi management requires a lot of upfront costs even before it is initiated. An organisation must install access points, routers, switches, and cabling. Depending on the size and complexity of the network, these upfront costs can skyrocket. These costs can especially escalate at a fast rate for larger companies having several locations. Furthermore, everyday maintenance and support costs can easily tear more holes in IT budgets. This indicates the pressing necessity of probing into Wi-Fi management money-saving options.

Ongoing Maintenance and Support Costs

These include consumption of another initial investment cost and maintenance, and support budget strains incurred within IT budgets. Businesses mainly accrue costs in relation to monitoring and troubleshooting networks, software updates, and technical support. Over a period, these accumulative figures could mean a huge financial burden if not managed well. Most organisations usually find themselves paying for dedicated IT staff who handle these types of tasks, thus increasing operational overheads. The burden does not end with purchasing. Network maintenance requires time-consuming tasks such as:

• Network Monitoring: Monitor network performance at all times to notify any probable faults, which may later develop into operations.
• Troubleshooting: The process of finding and fixing problems or performance related to networks due to different User or hardware faults.
• Software Updates: Keeping all network devices with the latest firmware release to secure and maintain functional performance.

Cost-Saving Benefits of Managed Wi-Fi

Managed Wi-Fi services offer many compelling reasons why organisations should choose them over conventional self-management. Here's how a company will benefit:

Reduced IT Staffing Costs

Companies have used their improved company's IT resources to outsource the management of a country Wi-Fi provider to care for all the everyday chores of networking-from monitoring through troubleshooting and configuration changes-so that their internal resources can devote their attention to more important areas. This move generates considerable savings in terms of IT staffing costs for companies. Utilising an automated network management solution from an MSP simplifies the operations of a company so that the need for affording a plethora of additional employees may fall off the hidden expenses account, thus leading to higher efficiency and productivity.

Lower Hardware and Software Costs

Often, managed Wi-Fi services are quite economical in terms of both hardware and software. By leveraging buying cloud, providers can offer great discounts on quality networking equipment. This avoids the up-front capital expenditure in an organisation. For instance, a coffee shop operating out of several outlets can save visiting each place by partnering with managed Wi-Fi provider.

In addition, managed Wi-Fi solutions sometimes have some add-on services such as hardware leasing or purchasing through a subscription basis. This strategy lowers if not eliminates any upfront initial and ongoing maintenance costs. Streamlines the activities by managing the upgrade and maintenance which reduces the cost incurred in the IT.

Best Practices for Maximizing Cost Savings with Managed Wi-Fi

While managed Wi-Fi offers inherent cost savings, adopting best practices further enhances the value:

Choosing the Right Managed Wi-Fi Provider

Selecting a managed Wi-Fi service provider is a very important step on the way to cost savings. In an institution choosing the right supplier, it should look for the following:

• Full-service offering: Design, implementation, monitoring, and support.
• Reliable track record: Meeting organisations' requirements and delivering services perfectly.
• Favourable Terms: Such terms must negotiate contracts with a fine-tuning to become cost-efficient.

Other parameters to be considered before selecting one provider:

• Complete Services Package: Get the full package provider-hardware, installation, configuration, ongoing monitoring and security updates, and dedicated customer support.
• Strong Track Record: Figure out the history and reputation of the provider in the industry.

Optimising Network Performance

The performance of managed Wi-Fi networks can be maximized and the costs minimised only if organisations pay adequate attention to the optimisation of network performance. The following could be crucial:

• Proper Network Design: This is engineering and blueprinting the network according to requirement and usage pattern so that it is more effective and requires little legacy when it comes to future upgrades.
• Regular Maintenance: Such as scheduling regular preventive maintenance to alleviate minor problems before they grow into bigger issues.
• Proactive Troubleshooting: In most cases, a managed Wi-Fi provider offers proactive troubleshooting by making use of network analytics to pre-emptively establish and resolve possible problems before they affect performance.

Application of the best practices will result in increased end-user satisfaction and reduced downtime expenses as well as diminishing the volume of calls made to the managed Wi-Fi provider, thus further reducing costs at an organization level.

Managed Wi-Fi furnishings provide a tactical solution for businesses that hope to digitise their IT costs and simplify their operation while securing better performance by the network and safety. Well-thought-out outsourcing of Wi-Fi management to a managed service provider cuts hardware investment, staff savings, and end-to-end reliable connectivity for businesses.

To maximsze cost savings and optimise network performance, businesses should:

• Choose a trustworthy company providing all services.
• Implement best practices in the area of designing, maintaining as well as troubleshooting networks.
• Negotiate favorable contracts that align with budget limits.

Ready to take control of your Wi-Fi management and unlock significant reduction in costs? We can help. Contact Anticlockwise today for more on managed Wi-Fi solutions.