Build or Refresh the WLAN
Don’t gamble with your wireless network; enhance guest experience with an efficient and reliable WLAN.
- Building or refreshing your venue’s WLAN can be a costly project, and as a result, obtaining stakeholder buy-in becomes a difficult task.
- The ability to offer Wi-Fi has become crucial for success in the gaming and hospitality industry: Wi-Fi is no longer an “amenity,” but expected as a standard offering at hotels. Your guests expect the capability to stay connected to their regular lives regardless of where they are.
- The hospitality and gaming sector faces high density and compliance challenges that are generally unmatched by other industries. On average, every four guest rooms is equivalent to a 4,000 sq. ft. house, but holds 8 guests and 24 devices surrounded in close proximity above, below, and around other rooms.
- Building or refreshing your venue’s WLAN requires careful planning to prevent re-work, ensure guest needs are met in the most cost effective way possible, and minimize disruption caused by installation.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Supply your stakeholders with historical network usage and capacity data when making the case for a WLAN build or refresh in order to provide a benchmark and gain buy-in for the project.
- Define your technical WLAN requirements based on your business context and requirements.
- If you design your WLAN for capacity, density and coverage will follow.
- Communicate with all involved parties throughout the project’s implementation project (food and beverage operations, casino operations, hotel management, etc.), in order to develop a WLAN design that caters to all of your venue’s stakeholder groups.
Impact and Result
- Gain stakeholder buy-in by making a solid business case for your WLAN build or refresh project by understanding the value it provides to the business.
- Define the business context surrounding the WLAN build or refresh and make sure your technical requirements can satisfy your business requirements.
- Develop a comprehensive request for proposal based on your technical requirements and score your responses using a standard methodology.
- Craft a well-designed network implementation and monitoring process in order to ensure ongoing project success moving forwards.
Workshop: Build or Refresh the WLAN
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 WLAN State
The Purpose
- Clarify project drivers and goals.
- Determine whether to proceed with the project.
- Develop a set of project requirements.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Identification of the business context and strategic direction of the WLAN build or refresh.
- Knowledge of organization’s challenges and constraints that will impact the project.
- Full set of technical requirements necessary to achieve a set objective or solution.
Activities
Outputs
Document your current challenges and project drivers.
- Full assessment of current state of organization’s WLAN.
Document your goals for the WLAN build or refresh.
- Identification of strategic objectives, obstacles, and business context.
Assess your business context and current state.
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.
Module 2: Build the Business Case
The Purpose
- Obtain stakeholder buy-in for the WLAN build or refresh project.
- Gauge the financial implications of the wireless LAN build or refresh.
Key Benefits Achieved
- High-level project timeline surrounding the WLAN build or refresh.
- Set of financials including costs and potential new sources of revenue.
- Collectively-informed group of project stakeholders.
Activities
Outputs
Analyze the WLAN build or fresh financials.
Build your Wi-Fi project calculator.
Build the business case.
- Completed business case.
Explore new sources of revenue and create additional guest value through your Wi-Fi offerings.
Module 3: Select a 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 4: Design the Network and Deployment Plan
The Purpose
- This phase moves into the tactical aspect of the WLAN build or refresh project, by working through the physical design 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.
- Completed Task Monitoring Tool.
Build your WLAN implementation timeline.
- Completed Acceptable Use Policy (guest and employee versions).
Module 5: 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.
Develop a plan for on-going monitoring of WLAN.
- 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 1-phase advisory process. You'll receive 5 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
- Call 1: Define your WLAN state
Conduct a scoping call, understand your business context, and determine your technical requirements.
- Call 2: Build the business case
Conduct a scoping call, review your project financials, and review your business case.
- Call 3: Select your WLAN solution
Conduct a scoping call, review the RFP, and review the RFP responses and contract.
- Call 4: Design the network and deployment plan
Conduct a scoping call, develop the implementation plan, and finalize the plan.
- Call 5: Implement and monitor success
Conduct a scoping call, review the initial project implementation, and monitor the WLAN.