Why SMBs need to upgrade their WiFi in 2024

Every challenge presents an opportunity and while each of us wishes the COVID-19 pandemic had never happened, it also compelled all organisations – large and small – to enable remote working, at least for a while. The positive outcome is that, should a similar scenario arise again in the future, we will know what to do.

It was essential during that time to take an entirely pragmatic approach. As such, priorities changed and budgets were diverted from what had been planned to what was needed right away. As if the pandemic had not been enough, we’ve since had a period of political upheaval and economic uncertainty. And while we’ve all been back at work for a good while, it’s only now that we’re beginning to see a return of stability in terms of forward planning. And, of course, the world of work has changed.

While many employees may now spend some of their working time at home or remotely, it’s still important to have good connectivity in the workplace. In fact, it’s more critical than ever to make the office an appealing place in which to work – and being able to have a really good WiFi experience is a vital part of that.

The technology that most SMBs have installed today will be three to five years old and long superseded by the latest technologies. The current equipment will probably be WiFi 5 or an earlier standard and this technology will barely be able to cope with the demands of today’s users, who will be using video conferencing/collaboration and accessing applications/services in the cloud, routinely on a daily basis.

In order to give them the performance and responsiveness they will need and expect, businesses must upgrade to WiFi 6/6E or to the latest WiFi 7 standard. Products that support the latter are now arriving on the market.

The decision about which technology to adopt will need to be made by individual SMBs and, as ever, will be a balance between what is required and what is affordable. But this is an upgrade that is definitely needed and one that they can’t afford to put off any longer.