Here's the reality about connectivity: everybody wants to be connected all the time, but nobody wants to use their own data to connect, especially in public spaces, says Pieter Engelbrecht, Business Unit Manager for HPE Aruba.
Consumers increasingly expect businesses, restaurants, malls and offices to provide free connectivity. For many businesspeople, free WiFi is a deciding factor when choosing which coffee shop to work from between meetings. And if they've used your WiFi before, they expect to be able to connect automatically the next time they walk through your doors.
But here's the other reality about connectivity: it's expensive for businesses to offer free WiFi, and in an age of heightened security risks and increasing costs of doing business, providing free WiFi may seem like more effort than it's worth.
Until now.
It's time for businesses to view their public networks as an opportunity to make money. By monetising their networks, businesses create a low-effort, effective additional revenue stream, which should be music to anyone's ears in the current economic climate.
Intelligent Edge
Picture this: a consumer walks into a shopping mall and her device automatically connects to the network. When walking past a clothing store, she instantly gets a push notification, offering a 10% discount if she purchases something in the next hour. As she nears a coffee shop, she gets another message - this time a voucher for a free coffee.
Everyone benefits:
* The consumer saves money on a dress and gets a free coffee - not to mention free WiFi;
* The clothing store made a sale and, with any luck, the consumer bought a muffin to go with her free coffee;
* Mall management successfully monetised its WiFi network by allowing the coffee shop and clothing store to advertise on the network and send push notifications to the consumer as soon as she was in their vicinity. This could either be done by offering advertising packages to shops, or by raising rent to include advertising for all shops in the mall.
We call this the Intelligent Edge.
Here's another scenario, which may sound familiar. Traffic on the highway has made you late for a flight. When you finally arrive at the airport, you get stuck behind a faulty boom. When you get inside the parking lot, there are no open bays. Eventually you find one at the far end of the parking lot. You race to check-in, only to find out that your flight has been delayed. 'Frustrating' doesn't cover it.
If you're a frequent flyer and the airport had an intelligent network, the scenario would likely have played out like this: as you pull into the parking lot, your device connects to the network. It already has all your flight details and sends you a message, telling you that your flight is delayed. It knows your number plate, so the booms open automatically and the network guides you to an open parking bay, identified through sensors. Your favourite coffee shop knows your flight is delayed and sends you a voucher for a free drink to go with your meal while you wait.
And just like that, the airport has offered a superior customer experience, which is something all businesses are prioritising. The other benefit is that, over time, the network will end up paying for itself; everything else will be money in the bank.
The application of intelligent networks and location-based services are endless. Intelligent office spaces support mobility on entirely new levels, allowing staff to work securely from anywhere - the dream of every millennial. One study found that it costs between R80 000 and R90 000 a year for a single working desk. If you have a couple of hundred employees, that's a massive expense. Empowering staff to work from anywhere, and on any device, is a game-changer.
And then there's the Internet of things (IOT). There are already millions of devices and sensors and things connecting to the Internet and sharing data. Soon, that figure will be in the billions and there's no way businesses can resist. Well, they can, but it's not likely they'll survive.
By opening up their networks, businesses can also collect data about their users, allowing them to tailor products and services to individual customers, which is marketing gold.
Here are a few things to keep in mind if you're considering monetising your network:
* Onboarding devices should be quick and seamless. The customer experience should always be a good one and if they can't access your network easily, they might think twice about clicking on your marketing messages.
* Separate your business and public networks. For obvious security reasons, the general public should not be able to access your enterprise network. Modern solutions allow for that separation, keeping your business-critical data secure and your users happy.
* Educate your tenants. Shops in malls might not understand the business value of location-based services and advertising. Run a pilot and let the data speak for itself.
* Get something in return. Opening up your network provides a prime opportunity to gather data about your users. But remember the user experience - this information exchange should be painless; like logging in with Facebook. Then use that information in real time to offer tailored discounts and promotions.
WiFi networks offer an entirely new way to engage with customers, staff and prospects, as well as an opportunity to increase revenue and make data-driven decisions.
Consumers expect to engage with businesses in ways they never have before and intelligent networks are the perfect enablers.
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