Smartphone taking photograph of free wifi sign on a latte coffee in a barWhen you visit a local coffee shop, there’s a high probability today that they offer free Wi-Fi to their customers, paying or not. Why? People are likely to stay longer, purchase more and return. For hotels travelers may only book if they know they’ll have Wi-Fi access. Offering guests wireless access can be beneficial to your business as well, providing business partners, contractors and visitors a reliable internet connection. You invest in their connectivity in order to build trust and more business.

How can you safely provide this? Follow these best practices for providing guest Wi-Fi access from your business:

  1. Don’t allow direct access to your private network

  2. Broadcast a separate wireless access name for your guests

  3. Configure access with a WEP or WPA key you provide guests

  4. Use the guest feature on your current hardware or purchase new hardware specifically for this access

  5. Define a business process for monitoring and administering access

When properly configured, this can be an important tool for helping the people you do business with.

It’s all a part of establishing the right IT foundation. Your business needs a great IT strategy, too, and we can help you succeed in this. Contact us to review or create your IT roadmap.