Blog
7signal's Sapphire is a system of WLAN performance management that offers a comprehensive, holistic view of your Wi-Fi network. It allows you to proactively monitor and manage the wireless user's experience. But some might ask, "When would I need it?" So, we put together a list of 5 great use cases that outline when you need 7signal Sapphire.
1. Project Assurance/ Risk Management
The first WLAN use case comes into play when you decide to invest in a new VoIP phone system. Your colleagues are excited, but you are concerned that users will experience jitter right-off-the-bat. This is potentially an embarrassing situation for the entire IT department because there will be a huge drop in productivity. Poor internal communications and the fire drill to fix may consume you for weeks. The damage to your credibility may take longer to repair. But if you could test the network prior to launch and optimize it before implementation, this will help mitigate the risk.
2. Improve the Customer Experience
Your business counterparts, students, faculty, doctors, nurses, administrators are all your customers. When they attach to the wireless network, they want it to work fast. To boost network throughput is to improve the quality of the end-user experience and elevate personal productivity. If you are considering upgrading all of your wireless access points from g to n or ac, then you need hardcore performance data in order to make the case. Also, once in place, you need a system of Wi-Fi performance measurement in place to ensure you are getting the return on investment promised in addition to making sure you are hitting certain benchmarks that equate to high levels of customer satisfaction.
3. Electronic Medical Record System Rollout
You’re getting close to rolling out EMR or perhaps you've already begun. You're excited because a digital version of a patient's paper chart is going to dramatically improve operational efficiency. However, You're concerned about the new tablets that doctors and nurses are bringing in to support the effort. You need a way to keep track of which clients are performing well and which ones are performing poorly. The entire EMR system needs to work consistently and reliably over the long-term. Getting ahead of issues with a system of WLAN performance management will help. Otherwise, complaints, major headaches and a lack of productivity will ensue.
4. BYOD Preparation
A very popular WLAN use case for Sapphire is when you are instituting new BYOD policies and as a result you expect Wi-Fi traffic to spike. Along with it, you expect the number of service calls you receive to increase dramatically as well. Instead of waiting passively for the onslaught of service requests, you want to be proactive and get ahead of situation by identifying the weak spots of your wireless network and then monitoring them closely, on an on-going basis. You need a system that will quickly analyze and offer recommendations to optimize the Wi-Fi network so that you can keep productivity high. You also want to proactively identify which devices may be causing or having the most issues so that you can make suggestions to your internal customers based on data, not opinion.
5. Digital Classroom Rollout
Student preferences are changing. Today's universities require a digital learning environment in order to remain competitive and meet the needs of a diverse and hyper-connected student base. This means that students must be able to attend class and access resources from anywhere at anytime. Campus Wi-Fi networks must be managed as mission-critical assets if students and faculty are expected to perform at their highest levels.
As the workplace continues to evolve, so must the infrastructure in order to meet the needs of a new generation of workers. Wi-Fi is the new edge network. It needs to be monitored and managed in a proactive way so that it may deliver all of the rich services that user expect. Otherwise, organizations run the risk of holding their people and businesses back from experiencing the growth they are capable of. The 5 WLAN use case may hit close to home. If so, contact us so we can talk about addresses your issues and challenges.