Get Your Wi-Fi Ready for Mobile

Applications: Top 10

Considerations for WLAN

October 2012

Prepared by:

Zeus Kerravala

Get Your Wi-Fi Ready for Mobile Applications: Top 10 Considerations for WLAN 2

© 2012 ZK Research

Influence and insight through social media

ZK Research A Division of Kerravala Consulting

zeus@zkresearch.com Cell: 301-775-7447 Office: 978-252-5314 Influence and insight through social media

Get Your Wi-Fi Ready for Mobile Applications: Top 10

Considerations for WLAN

by Zeus Kerravala

October 2012

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Introduction

The IT landscape has changed significantly over the past five years. In many ways, the exception is now the norm. Nowhere is this truer than in client computing. Mobile computing dominates the workplace and promises to bring orders of magnitude more devices into the workplace (see Exhibit 1).

Exhibit 1: The Impact of Mobile Computing

Source: ZK Research, 2012

The shift to mobile computing continues, with these trends in the lead:

Bring your own device (BYOD) is a reality: IT fought this for years, but the BYOD wave is almost unstoppable now. ZK Research finds a staggering 82 percent of organizations have a BYOD plan underway.

Mobile devices are the norm: As computing changes, workers look to mobile devices first. Exhibit 2 (below) shows the penetration of mobile and traditional compute devices. While fewer workers consider desktops their primary work device, more and more workers choose a mobile-first strategy. Tablets, in particular, have grown significantly in the workplace. In 2009 only 2 percent of workers considered a tablet a primary work tool. Our study estimates 34 percent of workers will, by the end of 2013.

The nature of applications is changing: Applications are now uniquely mobile. They understand user identity and location, and can make predictions. A mobile device is not just a better option, but may be the only option for many workers.

Get Your Wi-Fi Ready for Mobile Applications: Top 10 Considerations for WLAN 3

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Exhibit 2: Mobile devices are on the rise:

Percent of workers that use a device as a primary work tool

Source: ZK Research, 2012

The density of mobile devices continues to grow at an unparalleled rate: Just a few years ago the number of IP-enabled devices per worker was one-to-one. Today that ratio has grown to three-to-one, and ZK Research estimates this will increase to seven-to-one by 2016. ZK Research shows 11.8 million tablets were shipped in the U.S. in 2011. Tablet sales will quadruple to 45 million by the end of 2016.

Application control is increasingly important: With BYOD now mainstream, and as the number of devices per person shot up 300 percent over the past few years, it’s important IT understands which users are using what applications on particular devices.

The network is strategic: Mobile computing requires a network-centric computing model. Organizations will spend millions of dollars developing mobile applications and supporting mobile workers. However, any ROI is eliminated if the network is not ready to support the increased traffic and density of devices.

The biggest change to the network will occur on the wireless network. Wireless LAN is currently deployed as an augmentation to the primary wired network. The mobile computing era dictates that the wireless network will become the primary network. To prepare for the onslaught of mobile applications, IT leaders must evolve the Wi-Fi network.

Section II: Top 10 WLAN Considerations

Preparing the Wi-Fi network for the growing number of mobile applications requires more than just a simple upgrade of the network. Below are the top 10 things IT departments must consider to prepare for the migration to mobile computing:

1. Focus on user experience: Historically the wireless network is built on the principle of best effort. However, “good enough” networks are no longer good enough. The wireless network must provide a high quality, consistent user experience by automatically recognizing applications and prioritizing real-time traffic over other traffic.

The mobile computing era

dictates that the wireless

network will become the

primary network.

Get Your Wi-Fi Ready for Mobile Applications: Top 10 Considerations for WLAN 4

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2. Network visibility: Before embarking on a wide scale mobile application initiative, it’s critical IT departments truly know their network. This means a strong understanding of what applications are currently running on the network, and what the top bandwidth-consuming applications are and what their behavior looks like over time. This is critical as network engineers try to decide when and how to scale their Wi-Fi infrastructure. .

3. Application awareness: Different applications respond to the network in various ways. The network needs to be application-aware and optimize the performance of mainstream business applications such as Microsoft Lync and Citrix VDI. This requires a deep understanding of application protocols. Additionally, the wireless network should support other popular network protocols such as Apple’s Bonjour. Apple is gaining significant traction in companies today and the use of AirPrint and AirPlay is now mainstream.

4. Application control is a must: It’s critical that the network be able to distinguish between personal and corporate applications on the same mobile device, and treat them differently on the company network. For example, companies should have the ability to distinguish and retain personal contacts and data while wiping out corporate data if the device is lost or stolen. Additionally, the network should provide better quality of service (QoS) for corporate applications such as unified communications (UC) and storage, while restricting bandwidth or completely limiting access for personal applications such as YouTube and Netflix.

5. Ability to handle always-on mobile apps: Most mobile apps are powered by the cloud and are not on-demand anymore. They start interacting with the network when they deem necessary. Box, iCloud, Dropbox and other cloud-based applications require continuous connectivity and can be bandwidth intensive. This further drives the need to reserve valuable airtime for business-critical applications and apply them the right set of QoS policies.

6. Self-service capabilities: IT operations costs continue to escalate. In fact, 83 percent of the IT budget is used to maintain the current operating environment. Keeping operational costs low means empowering users and guests to safely on-board their own devices.

7. Extensibility of the network: Bandwidth usage and the number of wireless-only devices continues to grow exponentially. Any solution deployed today must be ready for the demands of today, and demands over the next two to four years. Wireless network must be able to handle extremely dense computing requirements to ensure a high-quality user experience.

8. High-quality air: Quality of experience requires more than just raw bandwidth. The Wi-Fi network needs to remove unnecessary traffic from the air to optimize P2P applications, multicast and other factors that can impact business performance.

9. Embedded network security: Historically, wireless security has focused on encryption. However, encryption is only part of the necessary solution. The network needs to have an awareness of who the device owner is, what operating system is being run and which applications are being used. This will enable the highest level of security to protect the business and the worker. For example, a CFO should be able to look at sensitive financial data in his or her office. However, the same information should not be viewed in a public area such as the lobby or cafeteria.

10. Maximizing airtime for each device: This provides an optimized experience across various devices, radios and applications. The Wi-Fi environment should recognize which applications require more bandwidth and allocate airtime accordingly. The network needs to offer predictable services as the type of device changes. For example, fairness among different types of 802.11n-capable mobile devices — single, double or triple-stream multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO).

Building a robust wireless network is one of the most significant steps in preparing the organization for the oncoming tsunami of mobile applications.

© 2012 ZK Research: A Division of Kerravala Consulting

All rights reserved. Reproduction or redistribution in any form without the express prior permission of ZK Research is expressly prohibited.

For questions, comments or further information, email zeus@zkresearch.com.

Section III: Conclusion and Recommendations

BYOD, cloud computing and the evolution of devices has created a perfect storm that allows workers to access any information from any device, no matter where they are. This will precipitate an increase in mobile applications as organizations try to package and deliver information to workers in a more streamlined way.

This transition to mobile computing makes the wireless network one of the most important assets corporate IT can leverage. However, the performance of Wi-Fi networks has been spotty, which may cause some IT leaders to think a migration to an all-wireless edge is too risky for the organization. If proper due diligence is done and the correct considerations are given, IT leaders can put their organization in a position to leap-frog the completion. Based on this, ZK Research recommends the following:

Build uniquely mobile applications: Many applications designed for mobile devices are simply smaller versions of a desktop application. Application developers should design applications that are uniquely mobile and incorporate features such as location and GPS information. The integration of these features will allow companies to build new processes that leverage the mobile work force better than ever before.

Choose a Wi-Fi solution designed for the mobile computing era: There are many wireless solutions on the market today, making it difficult for network professions to understand which solution is best for their company. It’s critical that companies do the proper due diligence and evaluate solutions on their ability to support the mobile computing era. Companies must not decide based on brand or incumbency.

Embrace BYOD and shift the IT control points: The biggest hesitation in rolling out a formal BYOD plan is the perception that IT is losing control of the environment. While it’s true IT is losing control of the device, it does not mean that IT is losing all control. Shift the legacy control points for management and security away from the end point and push them into the network to allow for greater scale and manageability.

This transition to mobile

computing makes the wireless

network one of the most

important assets for corporate IT

to leverage.