How Wi-Fi 6 Impacts Your Business Network

It’s no secret that growing businesses depend on the speed and quality of their network.

From communication to collaboration, employees have come to expect a reliable Wi-Fi connection that powers the tools they rely on most to get the job done. This includes video conferencing, digitally enhanced customer experiences, remote work and more, often competing for bandwidth on a single network.

As a result, the demand for scale and speed spurred the latest standard in connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, which supports more devices and faster connections to enable productivity wherever work happens. This is achieved by:

• More efficient use of channels, packing data into smaller resource units, and airtime, which allows simultaneous rather than individual rapid-fire connections

• Increased bandwidth for a higher-throughput ceiling and faster overall connectivity

• Improvement to both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wireless radios

Due to ever-more complex and sophisticated cyberattacks, Wi-Fi 6-certified platforms and devices also come with up-to-date encryption to help secure employee and consumer data in an increasingly digital-first environment.

However, small and medium businesses (SMBs) with legacy network platforms struggle to take advantage of Wi-Fi 6. Instead, they often face performance bottlenecks and more frequent user complaints, shifting lean IT teams to focus instead on basic troubleshooting tasks.

As the Wi-Fi 6 ecosystem of platforms and client devices reaches maturity and widespread adoption, for most SMBs, upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 is no longer a question of “if” but “when.”

Aruba’s access points (APs) for SMBs support the latest wave in Wi-Fi innovation, improving the reliability, scalability, and quality of business networks. Aruba’s APs also come with state-of-the-art security measures that protect critical business functions. Some of these improvements include:

• AirMatch and ClientMatch, which are patented performance and reliability enhancements that address Wi-Fi gaps and sticky client behavior to enable seamless corner-to-corner coverage

• Flexible management with cloud and on-prem solutions as well as a controllerless instant AP mode

• Streamlined setup with Zero-Touch Provisioning, which automatically applies preconfigured settings to new APs for plug-and-play deployment

• Stronger password security with WPA3 encryption and enhanced open standards to prevent unauthenticated devices from accessing the network

With the right network environment, Wi-Fi 6 has up to four times the throughput capacity.

If your network is still running with legacy standards, it’s time for a refresh. Learn more about Aruba Wi-Fi 6 APs and Aruba’s SMB network solutions.