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While some companies have relatively simple networking setups, most companies are always evolving to meet their information technology needs. Temporary workspaces, a mobile workforce, telecommuters, and reconfigurable workplaces make wireless technology a good solution for a changing environment.
As you begin to evaluate the possibility of adding wireless printing to your network, it helps to review several potential usage models based on the experiences of various-sized companies. Your company may have one or more of these applications now, or may need one in the near future. Understanding the various usage models will assist you in planning business-enhancing network services as you grow your corporate network.
Temporary workspaces
One of the challenges that information technology professionals often face is the need to quickly set up a networked location for a special event, such as job fairs, special projects, or conventions. Implementing a wireless printing solution allows workers to easily print out documents on a shared printer.
Mobile workforce
Since many sales and executive personnel travel a great deal, having a wireless infrastructure for immediate, hassle-free connectivity can be a real productivity booster. Wireless-enabled business travelers don't need to plug into the corporate LAN to print a document before they leave on their next trip or when they arrive at a satellite office. When they have access to a wireless printer, they can walk right up to it and print without the hassles of cabling the printer to their laptop. Also, with the availability of Bluetooth on PDAs and cell phones, employees can quickly print contact information or meeting notes without using a cable.
Telecommuters
In today's high-tech environment, many companies encourage employees to work from home. However, no employee is an island, and at some point even regular telecommuters will need to come in to the office for a meeting, scheduled appointment, or training. During these trips, it's likely that these employees will need access to a printer. A printer with a wireless interface allows these employees to print from their wireless-enabled laptops without a physical connection to the local LAN or to the printer itself. Every minute these employees aren't looking for a LAN connection or hauling out printing cables is another minute they are being productive.
Reconfigurable workplaces
It isn't often that an office remains status quo with regard to its layout. With ever-changing business needs, many offices are utilizing "work center" environments that permit the quick reconfiguration of workspaces to provide enhanced productivity. For example, consulting companies that regularly assemble cross-functional teams to meet the requirements for a given project may regularly reconfigure their office space to reflect team size and composition.
In these environments, walls are few, files and personal tools are portable, and mobile computers are key. When you add a wireless printing solution to this setting, non-technical staff members can move a network printer easily during a workplace reconfiguration without requiring the Information Technology staff to rewire or move network outlets.
Additionally, some company projects may require non-traditional work environments to get the job done. For example, a team of employees may need to work within a large conference room with several printers for a short period of time. To facilitate projects like these, IT staff can create an ad hoc wireless printing environment in a matter of minutes (and at almost no set-up cost) rather than installing additional wired networking infrastructure at a significant cost.
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