Demand for WLAN technology and services in defence, healthcare and retail sectors signals key to healthy growth
UK company based in Surrey Southern England LAN2LAN a systems integrator, has seen a dramatic increase in demand for technology and services in the Wireless LAN (WLAN) market, particularly in the defence, healthcare and retail sectors.
As a result, the company has reported phenomenal growth with a massive increase in sales of 500% over a three-year period for its WLAN services.
At the same time, WLAN solutions, systems integration and specialist consultancy services now account for almost one third of the company’s
total business, rising from 10% to 29% in the last 12 months alone.
Recent contract wins for LAN2LAN include Aneurin Bevan Health Board and London City Airport. Furthermore, it has recently helped one of the UK’s
leading retail brands to improve its warehouse productivity and stock control processes and is behind an innovative Wi-Fi® solution that
continues to boost the morale of thousands of UK troops based in Afghanistan by allowing them to communicate at all times with friends and family.
LAN2LAN has managed to differentiate itself in the marketplace through expert knowledge and compliance with industry standards and accreditations
such as N3. The latter is particularly important in the health sector where N3 compliance is an essential component of the National Programme for IT
(NPfIT) that provides secure fast broadband services to the NHS in England in Wales. N3 accreditation was a prerequisite for completing the winning bid
for Aneurin Bevan Health Board and meeting the organisation’s stringent Service Level Agreement for management and security.
By achieving the N3 standard, LAN2LAN is allowed to connect remotely to sites across Gwent, via the Public Sector Broadband Access (PSBA) infrastructure for Wales, to provide remote support services.
As a specialist consultancy, LAN2LAN has indepth knowledge on a variety of issues that concern users of WLAN infrastructures such as security. It regularly shares this knowledge with customers to help them define security processes and policies. This is especially helpful in the education sector where the majority of students use their own personal laptops in school, college and university campus environments.
Gary Duke, Director of LAN2LAN commented: “Over the last ten years, wireless networks have grown exponentially and we have followed their journey to maturity, learning many lessons along the way. We have reached the milestone of becoming WLAN thoroughbreds, a trusted partner for customers looking for independent expertise based on real-life experience.
Now that advances in technology have overcome the two biggest barriers to wireless deployment - speed and security – we are in the privileged position to focus on making our customers successful, helping them to make the most of their infrastructure to give them a distinct competitive advantage in an increasingly crowded marketplace.”
Take, for example, London City Airport, which uses wireless to provide secure Internet access to millions of business travellers on the move and has applied the technology to improve the efficiency of its baggage handling and ticketing processes.
Situated at the heart of England’s capital, the airport will be a crucial part of the Olympic infrastructure for the 2012 London Games and is gearing up for a new peak of activity to deliver excellent service to more customers. By providing quick and easy Wi-Fi® access for all passengers in the terminal building, London City Airport is turning commercial necessity into a genuine competitive advantage.
Another major driver for the expansion of the WLAN market is cost. In today’s tough economic climate, CIOs demand immediate payback for their investment in new technology. The fact that companies in new buildings can potentially reduce CAPEX by 50% by replacing ten CAT 5 cables with one wireless port is a powerful message for CFOs.
Gary Duke concluded: “LAN2LAN is constantly seeking new technology breakthroughs that promise to improve processes, drive efficiency, reduce cost and increase revenue streams for customers. We’ve built a solid foundation for the future but always strive to do more. Customers are already talking about Voice over Wi-Fi® and location-based services, both exciting developments in the wireless world. The trick, however, is to cherry-pick the right technology and then blend it into a solution that perfectly matches the customer’s environment and supports their overall business objectives. That way, we hope that everyone will weather the storm and beat the recession.”
21 September 2010
