Wireless technology has boomed in recent years with many businesses and homes alike making use of the mobility benefits that it offers. No longer are people tied to an umbilical cord of Internet connectivity and instead have the freedom to move around wherever they please. But in a business environment what are the pro's and con's of using such technology?

Pro's

As already mentioned the big pro' of wireless is that you have more freedom to move around as you please. Put simply people can give access to the Internet anywhere within the wireless hot-spot, so long as they have a compatible laptop. In the business world this is very beneficial as people can hot desk' much easier, enabling a better use of resources. When it comes to meetings too it allows users to re-locate to a meeting room with great ease. Gone are the days of desperately searching for phone sockets so that you can access that important email that is crucial to the meeting. Another great benefit is that visitors to the office can enjoy Internet connectivity with ease also, even as they wait in reception.

Con's

No discussion of wireless technology would be complete without mentioning the well publicised issues with security. There is still much debate as to whether or not wireless notebooks are completely secure with reports of people standing just outside a building and accessing the hot spot.' Whilst the result of this could be something as unproblematic as someone just freeloading on their Internet connection, it could also be something much more serious. Most businesses not only use wireless for Internet connections, but also for intranet. This could also allow any would-be hacker access to all sorts of important details that the business would not be keen to see fall into the wrong hands.

Another potential con of wireless technology is that it could arguably start to decimate the traditional office environment with workers seeking more isolated locations in the building in which to do their work. The impacts on morale and ultimately productivity of such an eventuality are of course untested, but there is perhaps some potential detriment.

In summary it seems there are both advantages and disadvantages to wireless technology in the office. As developments are made to help secure such systems it is perhaps inevitable that they will be utilised more and more.

Learn more about this author, Paul Linsell.
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