As a business owner who uses WiFi, you rely on your router to reliably broadcast a network connection to your entire office. This is, we hope, a private network that you won’t want to share with just anyone. Well, guests visiting your office might want to use the wireless internet and allowing them to use your internal network is a security problem. Offering them access can improve guest relations, thereby enhancing customer experience. So, what’s the solution?
It’s simple: integrate a guest WiFi hotspot specifically for visitors.
Why This Is A Good Idea
When you consider the prevalence of public WiFi hotspots, you’ll realize that this is a great idea that can dramatically increase customer satisfaction. Fast food restaurants and cafes are seeing this: As customers come in to use their wireless, consumers wind up purchasing food or coffee. Guest WiFi hotspots work for the service-type industries, but you may think that translating this to a professional environment might be a bit of a stretch. Wouldn’t you rather have a guest network ready so that only trusted users can access the internet without entering your internal network?
Can My Internet Handle More Users?
It goes without saying that businesses need strong, stable connection for online access. Before you consider allowing even more users to connect over WiFi, you want to make sure that your internet connection can withstand more traffic.
How many users will be taking advantage of it at any given moment? Is it going to be meant for just simple web browsing, or will it be used for streaming music, videos, and other content? Consider these questions carefully, and ensure that your connection can accommodate the influx if needed. This will minimize risks of the network speed grinding to a halt when you need it most, which can certainly have a secondary effect on their perception of your operations. Some guest WiFi solutions even let you restrict bandwidth per user, which will allow you to better control this.
Would Guest WiFi Be Safe?
Just because you have a wireless signal for guests doesn’t mean it needs to go without security protocol. It should be set up to require a password that is provided by someone in your office; otherwise, you might find yourself victim to local passers-by and those exposed to your network trying to leech your wireless signal without your consent. This set of simple measures will lend your organization a semblance of control over the network while still having it available for users when the need arises.
Your business should keep antivirus, firewall, content filter, and other measures active to prevent incriminating content from being browsed from your WiFi location. There are even WiFi solutions that enforce users to have antivirus running on their device before letting them connect, which offers added protection.
When you think you’re ready to set up your guest WiFi hotspot, you would benefit from IT support that understands the needs of your business computing infrastructure. They make sure that your hardware can handle the extra traffic and discuss your goals.
Cooperative Systems can help your organization set up and utilize a guest WiFi solution that’s designed to keep your organization safe while allowing your guests to benefit from the web. Click here to learn more about our connectivity suite.