Creating a Bullet-Proof Wireless Network for Your Business

Every business needs a robust, reliable network that is dependable 24-hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. This is true whether your business is being conducted out of a formal office space or, as is the case for many people now, from your home. The good news is that ORAM Corporate Advisors has the ability and experience to create the secure wireless network you need to conduct business seamlessly regardless of where you are working.Concierge ITIf you’ve ever stayed in a hotel or resort, you may have taken advantage of the concierge service that assists guests by performing various tasks such as making reservations, recommending nightlife hot spots in the area, or even booking transportation. ORAM Corporate Advisors is similar in that we provide network, security, and reliability services that meet the specific needs of your business at all times. We do this by taking the worry of your computers and network off of the table so you can focus on your business. Our experienced professionals even handle the ongoing maintenance of the computers and network for you.Business Networking Out of the HomeWith the COVID-19 pandemic, the way people work has shifted dramatically. According to research conducted by Statista.com, 17 percent of U.S. employees worked from home five days a week or more prior to the introduction of COVID-19. That number jumped to 44 percent during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. With that large, immediate increase in remote workers, the demand for a reliable home network with built-in security became essential for many people. This was even truer for those who had others in the home that were also working or learning remotely due to the increased demand on their wireless network.ORAM has been able to step in and assist many clients, businesses and individuals alike, with achieving their network requirements. Our IT professionals can visit your home to plan a network specific to your needs and environment.Enterprise-Grade HardwareAt ORAM, we use only enterprise-grade hardware for the home networks we manage. What this means to you is that you get the same quality, dependable wireless service you would have in a traditional office or at the best hotels and resorts in the world. Our go-to is Cisco Meraki because it provides advanced security, next-generation Wi-Fi, and improves the network experience from what most people are used to in terms of home routers and wireless service.COVID Pushes Breaches UpwardSecurity has always been important to businesses but as the workforce has become remote, the need for security has also increased. This is due to the fact that many people may not have the secure network at home that they are used to in the office.If your employees are working on their personal devices from desktops and laptops to tablets and mobile phones, they may not have the same layers of security your business devices offer. The same is true of your network security. The lower levels of security on personal devices and home networks increase the risk your company could experience a breach. Hackers are always employing ransomware, viruses, malware, and other malicious software that can get through the lower level of security your employees are using at home. An online piece by CNBC reported that large-scale breaches have grown in intensity and frequency in 2020 with the number of breaches increasing 273 percent in the first quarter of the year alone.Security MattersWhen it comes to your wireless network, ORAM adds layers of security to keep your family, business, and data secure. The intuitive dashboard built into Cisco Meraki provides security solutions to protect against even the most advanced threats. It also enables us to take remote control of any incident from the alert to the fix for you should a cyber event occur.What this means is that you and anyone using your wireless network (think about children learning remotely, tenants, and guests) are better protected from online threats. Again, if a breach occurs, ORAM handles it quickly and efficiently to reduce downtime and ensure your business continuity because we know time is money. Once your home and/or office network has been planned and implemented, we manage and maintain it.Continuous Network CoverageThink about the famous logo of the Olympic rings. All of the rings slightly overlap one another and that is how ORAM creates wireless networks that are strong and steadfast. We like the center of those Olympic rings to be a direct feedback to where your modem is located. In your home or office space, this may require some wiring, especially if we are installing a network in an older building.The goal here is to get you the best wireless signal whether you’re in a basement office, on the third floor of an old brownstone, or you’re enjoying a day of great weather on the porch or rooftop. What we often see in such buildings with older networks is repeaters that do just what they sound like; they repeat the signal from the router to your computer and back. This repeating signal weakens with each repeater, causing your wireless connectivity to be spotty. This is especially true when your building features items that interfere with the wireless signal such as brick, stone, kitchens, bathrooms, and elevators.Reliability You Can Count OnImagine trying to get onto your computer to join a Zoom call when the computer literally has to go through four or five networking devices (repeaters) to access the internet. This is simply less than efficient and your connectivity will not be good. It’s even worse when you have multiple users on an antiquated, inefficient network. With a network constructed by ORAM, we get your device to the closest network link so it has the best access to the internet at all times.Many remote workers are now faced with the issue of reliability. Businesses require a reliable network constantly whether their workforce in the office or at home. ORAM conducts a heat mapping of your environment which tells us where access points need to be throughout your office or home. It helps us determine where and how to place those aforementioned Olympic rings for the best network possible in your work environment.Audiovisual DevicesAt home or in the office, your business likely has audiovisual devices in use in addition to the computers and mobile technology being employed. When it comes to streaming devices, ORAM recommends hard-wiring them. Though your new wireless network is robust, hard-wiring audio-visual devices such as televisions means there is an “always-on connectivity” that doesn’t interfere with other wireless devices that are in use.The Big PictureWhat network you need at home versus what you need at the office may be completely different and your network requirements may vary greatly from someone else’s needs. At ORAM, we look at the big picture of your network requirements to give you exactly what your business requires.For example, in an office environment, all of the little ports you see in the wall bring those data points together in one space. For a home environment, we find a way to build that into your environment as well because you’re going to need a switch to manage all of the wireless access points in your home. It all comes back to what you want and need as well as where each piece works best in your specific environment.Plan for the FuturePlanning for the future is a necessity since we all know, especially given the events of 2020, that things can, and do, change. With ORAM, you can do just that. While you may not need to run hardwire now, we help you identify potential future needs during the network planning process such as expansion and growth. Should you plan to eventually buy out all floors of a brownstone for your personal living quarters, for example, we may need to leave certain areas open so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel for an entire building that is used at a later date.For more information on building a bullet-proof wireless network for your business at home or in the office, contact ORAM Corporate Advisors now at (617) 933-5060.