Impact Research 1 Deploying Wireless LANs for Business Benefit Summary Document

Impact Research 2 25% of Wireless LAN Implementations realize cost savings or increased revenue Intangible benefits are impact enough to justify the WLAN investment. 75% Realize Intangible Benefits only 25% Realize Cost Savings or Increased Revenue Overview  Every WLAN implementation brings some level of benefit; however cost savings are not usually the top motivation  The motivation for a WLAN implementation is usually a long list of intangible benefits Everyon e sees benefit

Impact Research 3 Intangible Benefits Executive Summary Wireless LANs can bring significant benefits % of Implementations BenefitObserved Range 88% Employee Productivity An increase in productivity due to the ability to work anywhere, increased presence and team collaboration. 15–30 minutes per day 39% Business Process Throughput Decreasing the turnaround time for reporting, processing customers, and inventory or asset tracking. Up to 300% faster 33% Customer Satisfaction Improving your product offering and your value proposition to customers. n/a 12% Cost Savings Hardware and move/add/change cost savings. 20–50% 9% FTE Savings Reduction in FTEs required for inventory and/or asset tracking. 2.5–10% 6% Increased Sales Increased revenue due to added flexibility of mobile point of sale. 1–5% Cost Savings or Increased Revenue

Impact Research 4 Implementation benefits differ by company size and industry  Organizations of all sizes and industries are adopting and benefiting from WLANs. However, since benefits are determined by use:  Larger companies will see a greater number of potential uses and benefits.  Certain industries (such as Education, Healthcare, and Manufacturing) provide an opportunity for a greater number of uses and benefits. Executive Summary There are three key questions to address in considering a WLAN implementation: 1. What WLAN uses will benefit your organization? 2. How much should you spend on the WLAN implementation? 3. What are best practices for implementing a WLAN?

Impact Research 5 Who is using Wireless LANs

Impact Research 6 Organizations of all types have adopted WLANs Who is using Wireless LANs How this should impact your WLAN decision: Size and industry affect the extent of benefit though the technology is recognized as adding value in companies of all sizes and industries. Understand your organization’s potential uses of a WLAN to balance cost against benefit. N=1020 Source: Info-Tech IRD™, % + Adoptio n Please see full report for details behind adoption rates.

Impact Research 7 Approaching the decision to implement a WLAN

Impact Research 8 Employee, Customer, and Bottom Line needs drive WLAN adoption Most organizations utilize their WLANs in more than one way for more than one reason. DRIVERS Wireless LAN implementations are done for one or more of following reasons: EMPLOYEES want or need it To enhance the CUSTOMER experience To improve the BOTTOM LINE 40% 45% 97% Drivers that influence WLAN adoption:

Impact Research 9 Approaching the Decision to Implement Wireless ASSESS FIT BENEFITS There are nine applications of wireless LANs that accomplish the goals of the three drivers. Understand what they are and which driver they fall under. ( Page 14) Establish how the WLAN will positively impact your organization based on your WLAN uses. ( Pages 18-29) Assess your fit for each use by using the Fit Checklist. Once you have determined that a fit for a WLAN exists with at least one use, evaluate all of the other available uses, particularly those under the same driver, in order to take full advantage of your WLAN infrastructure. ( Pages 15-17) Making the WLAN implementation decision UNDERSTAND USES For more specific guidance on determining your fit, please see the WLAN Use Tool.

Impact Research 10 How Much You Should Spend

Impact Research 11 Align your spend with intended uses How Much Should You Spend? Step 1 - Decide on your intended use(s) for the WLAN  Based on the fit indicators and your drivers highlighted in the previous sections, determine the uses and goals of your WLAN.  Understanding the uses will help you envision how many users you should support and how large an area you will need to cover. Step 2 - Estimate WLAN spend  Based on your intended use(s), leverage the Info-Tech WLAN Implementation Tool to estimate your spend. Step 3 - Understand the details  Implementation planning will require a full understanding of spend details. See the section “Getting down to the spend details” for more information on the individual components you need to consider. The WLAN Decision Tools that accompany this report will help you to determine the goals of your implementation and estimated costs/durations.

Impact Research 12 Common Pitfalls

Impact Research 13 Heed the Warnings of Your Peers Don’t expect big hardware cost savings  Significant hardware savings are usually the exception rather than the rule. The majority of WLAN implementations report benefits unrelated to cost savings. It may be difficult to quantify soft savings  The majority of WLAN benefits are intangible. It may be difficult to quantify benefits such as employee satisfaction, convenience, competitive advantage, and collaboration in your business case. Interference  20% of implementations reported experiencing interference issues while setting up their WLAN. Interference problems were due to other devices on same frequencies (ie. microwaves, nearby APs and terrain). Pitfalls Coverage  Just under 20% of our interviewees stated that their users complained of gaps in coverage immediately after the initial implementation. Common reasons for this include an overestimation of the range of APs and an underestimation of user needs.  There are 7 key pitfalls we identified, of which 4 are summarized below. Please see the full report for details on the 7 pitfalls, including mitigation steps.

Impact Research 14 Creating the Plan

Impact Research 15 Eight critical planning steps for WLAN implementation Step 1: Determine Your Drivers and the Uses of the WLAN Step 2: Develop the Business Case Step 3: Select a Vendor Step 4: Select Security Implementati on Step 6: Conduct a Site Survey and Pilot/Test Step 7: Deploy the Solution and Transition Employees Step 8: Manage and Review Ongoing Step 5: Determine Resources Required and Duration  Based on successful cross-industry implementations, below is a compiled leading-practices guide to moving forward with deploying a WLAN solution within your organization.

Impact Research 16 Case Studies

Impact Research 17 Case Study Case Studies 5% FTE Reduce d “The wireless LAN provides a backbone to real time data. Data entry is faster with less input errors now that systems are updated as the activity happens. Having accurate transactions in real time dramatically improves material management decision making". Company Profile # of Employees:700 IndustryManufacturing Wireless Users Supported:100 Benefits Key Driver(s)  Bottom line driver Uses  Workplace mobility  Inventory tracking  Cost alternative to wired Benefits Achieved  300% quicker reporting time  Real-time inventory management  WIDP is more accurate and timely  Better customer service  Increased collaboration  Improved decision making Solution Selection Vendor Selected  Cisco Number of APs  50 Approximate Cost  $49,000 Supported Devices  Laptops and handhelds Coverage  50%