Build or Refresh the WLAN for Small Governments
Better serve your employees and citizens with an up-to-date wireless network.
- Wi-Fi has become a utility that facilitates daily business activities, as well as connectivity and accessibility within many organizations, including small government organizations.
- Your employees and residents are not only demanding free Wi-Fi, but also faster and more reliable wireless networks as they push the limits of your network’s capacity with a growing number of devices per person.
- Keeping up with these demands and securely managing an increasingly complex network is difficult.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Consider the possibility of partnering with carriers or telecom companies to reduce the cost of building and maintaining your WLANs.
- Make sure that you define your technical WLAN requirements based on your context, physical environment, and requirements.
- If you design your wireless network for capacity, density and coverage will follow.
Impact and Result
- Make a solid business case for your WLAN build or refresh project by understanding the value it provides to the government and citizens and be prepared to support it.
- Define the use cases and business context for your WLAN to make sure your technical requirements can satisfy your use case requirements and stakeholders understand the full scope of the wireless build or refresh project.
- Develop a comprehensive request for proposal based on your requirements and score your responses using a standard methodology.
- Carefully plan your network design and action plan prior to implementation.
Workshop: Build or Refresh the WLAN for Small Governments
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Define Your Current State and Build the Business Case
The Purpose
- Clarify project drivers and goals.
- Determine whether to proceed with the project.
- Develop a set of project requirements.
- Obtain stakeholder buy-in for the project.
- Gauge financial implications of the project.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Identification of the business context and strategic direction of the WLAN build or refresh.
- Knowledge of organization’s relevant challenges and constraints.
- Full set of necessary technical requirements.
- High-level project timeline.
- Set of financials including costs and new sources of revenue.
Activities
Outputs
Document your current challenges and project drivers.
- Identification of strategic objectives.
Document your goals for the WLAN build or refresh.
Assess your business context and current state.
- Full assessment of current state of organization’s WLAN.
Assess the characteristics and constraints of your current technical environment.
Decide if and when to implement this project.
Determine technical requirements for your solution.
- Complete list of technical requirements to complement the business strategy for the WLAN build or refresh.
Analyze the WLAN build or refresh financials.
Build the business case.
- Finalized business case.
Module 2: Select Your WLAN Solution
The Purpose
- Assess your venue’s WLAN equipment needs for the build or refresh.
- Select a vendor based on technical qualifying factors, as well as their strategic fit with your organization.
- Review the contract prior to signing in order to ensure a mutually beneficial partnership moving forwards.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Selection of a solution for your WLAN build or refresh.
Activities
Outputs
Create your initial vendor shortlist.
Develop the RFP.
- Completed RFP.
Prepare to score the RFP.
- Completed RFP Scoring Tool.
- WLAN vendor selected.
Module 3: Design the Network and Deployment Plan
The Purpose
- Work to design the physical layout of the network.
- Ensure that the appropriate process and role transitions take place to facilitate the network build or refresh.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Development of a detailed project implementation timeline.
- Full physical design of the network.
- Transitioning of staff members to support the build or refresh.
Activities
Outputs
Design your network.
- Network design.
Estimate and mitigate downtime involved in the WLAN build or refresh.
- Mitigation plan surrounding reduction of overall network downtime.
Plan and initiate staffing role transitions to take place.
- Completed Implementation Plan Template.
Build your WLAN implementation timeline.
- Completed Task Monitoring Tool.
- Completed Acceptable Use Policy (guest and employee versions).
Module 4: Deploy the Network and Monitor Success
The Purpose
- Analyze how successful the initial implementation of the WLAN has been.
- Identify areas for improvement.
- Initiate a plan for continuous improvement.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Identified project pain points.
- Process to ensure continuous improvement.
Activities
Outputs
Test the wired networks, and validate your wireless network.
Assess network coverage using heat maps.
- Initial assessment of effectiveness of WLAN.
Develop a plan for on-going monitoring of WLAN.
- High-level schedule of check-in points.
About Info-Tech
Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst
Get the help you need in this 4-phase advisory process. You'll receive 12 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
Guided Implementation 1: Define current WLAN state
- Call 1: Conduct current state scoping call.
- Call 2: Review your requirements.
- Call 3: Review the business case.
Guided Implementation 2: Select a WLAN solution
- Call 1: Conduct a vendor marketplace scoping call.
- Call 2: Review the RFP.
- Call 3: Review the RFP responses and contract.
Guided Implementation 3: Design the network and deployment plan
- Call 1: Conduct a deployment plan scoping call.
- Call 2: Develop the implementation plan.
- Call 3: Finalize the plan.
Guided Implementation 4: Deploy the network and monitor success
- Call 1: Conduct a final scoping call.
- Call 2: Review the initial project implementation.
- Call 3: Monitor the WLAN.
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