Let Your High Speed Devices Run Free

When was the last time you upgraded your smartphone? It seems like we are upgrading our smartphones and tablets every year or so. 5 years ago the Motorola Moto X was the smartphone of the year according to Stuff magazine (https://www.stuff.tv/features/stuff-gadget-awards-2014-motorola-moto-x-smartphone-year) followed by the LG, HTC One and iPhone 6.

We wouldn’t even consider using the same smartphone we used 5 years ago even if they were award winners.  The same could be said about our computers and laptops. A new computer now can be operating twice as fast as its 5-year old counterpart. In 2015, we could expect 128GB of storage, 3GB of RAM and a quad core processor. Now nothing but a 256GB of storage, 8GB RAM and 8-core processor will do. Five years ago, the average Internet speed was 12Mbps. According to Speedtest.net, Americans are currently getting around 135 Mbps of download speed and 52 Mbps of upload speed through their fixed broadband connections.

If we understand the difference a couple years makes on our personal devices, why do we continue to connect to antiquated business networks and infrastructure that are 5 years old or even older? It isn’t uncommon to see businesses running Wi-Fi and switching infrastructure on 10-year old equipment then question why their network is performing so poorly. Today, Wi-Fi networks already experience bandwidth-intensive media content and multiple Wi-Fi devices per user. Moving forward, networks will face a sustained and dramatic increase in the number of devices (a tripling of the total global IP traffic) with IoT connections representing more than half of all global connected devices by 2022. This diverse range of new technologies will all heavily rely on Wi-Fi.

The next generation of LAN hardware will build upon customary speed and density improvements with new capabilities designed for technology trends of the future. Virtual and augmented reality network traffic is poised to grow twelve-fold by 2022. Networks of the future need to be fast, agile and efficient to accommodate increased client density, high throughput requirements, and a diversity of new applications. Wi-Fi 6 with Auto RF technology can provide gigabit plus speeds while extending battery life on connected devices, lower overall power consumption, and deliver better performance in crowded areas. Switching improvements can include more powerful yet more efficient power over Ethernet (PoE), 10Gig uplinks or better, remote cable testing and remote packet captures. Gone are the inefficient days of tracing cables and running Wireshark to do troubleshooting. The new generation of networks will create an always-connected user experience without bottlenecks or performance degradation.

Not updating your networking infrastructure may lead to business process disturbances, lower productivity and downtime. You wouldn’t buy a high-performance sports car only to drive it in bumper to bumper traffic so quit connecting your supercharged smart phone or laptop to a legacy network.

I can connect you to a TPx representative to find out how to deliver a high performing, always on and secure network to your business so you, your business and your workforce can thrive.