In today’s age of constant connectivity, having a seamless Wi-Fi connection is a must and when it comes to business operation, even a small downtime or lag in connection can cost dearly. This is especially true for small and medium business (SMBs) owners, who are looking for maximum output from their investments.
The increased number of wireless devices in the office requires a high performance, state-of-the-art network. With the growing number of connected devices, such issues are only going to increase and SMBs need to recognize the importance of Wi-Fi for their operations. IDC recently conducted a study that indicates that nearly 66% SMBs are still using eight year old technology. The report goes on to say that some of the other concerns raised by small and medium business owners include network latency and lack of adequate security.
The Managing Director of Linksys – META, Amanullah Khan highlights that these pain points exist and keep escalating because most SMBs are unaware of available performance improvements. “For this very reason, despite the progress in networking products and technology, many firms have been slow to take advantage of the latest improvements in wireless technology.”
In addition to performance concerns, small businesses identify security as a major issue. Educating customers on advanced security capabilities of latest Wi-Fi products can ease concerns and encourage upgrades that might otherwise be postponed.
One main reason for lack of awareness among SMBs is the shortage of efforts from both vendors and channel partners, who must explain the benefits of improved network performance to small-business decision-makers, explains Khan.
“On our part, we are now engaging with our channel partners to enlighten them on the challenges their customers (SMBs) are facing and how value-added resellers and system integrators can help customers improve network performance and productivity.”
Growth of IoT and use of outdated technology have created new revenue opportunities for channel partners. And now that channel partners serving the SMB segment understand their customers’ requirements, they need to take advantage and offer the option to upgrade Wi-Fi hardware with minimum investment.
Another avenue that our partners can take advantage of is in finding new use cases and first time deployments. However, Khan emphasizes that channel partners need to add value by adding different types of networking products that small businesses will be using along with wireless networks. “Cross-selling by offering hubs, routers, switches and cloud services can benefit equipment providers. If they are not able to offer an appealing portfolio of resources then they need to develop partnerships with others to give a comprehensive package that is hard to refuse.”
Linksys has a robust portfolio of Wi-Fi solutions on the market that are well suited for small and mid-size businesses. These products provide competitive solutions for channel partners to extend their reach into the SMB market.
Finally, when it comes to investment in upgrading the network or Wi-Fi hardware, either the SMBs do not have enough revenue to invest or such an upgrade is not a priority for them. “To enable this segment of our customers to enjoy the full benefits of our products and technology, we work with some large service providers in the region to offer easy payment plans spanning up to 36 months.”
