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Instant On, secure WiFi becomes a competitive advantage for SMEs

Aruba brings enterprise grade capabilities to small and medium business.

Johannesburg, 16 Sep 2021

Small and medium-sized businesses such as independent retailers, restaurants, boutique hotels and even doctors’ rooms stand to make their businesses more competitive simply by rolling out fast, seamless and secure WiFi at their premises. 

So says Dino Psoulis, Solution Architect – Aruba and HPE at Axiz, who says local SMEs are keen to transform to a more digital business and offer guests and customers an enhanced digital experience with added value, but they often lack the resources and IT skills to set up and manage the necessary infrastructure.

“Customers and guests expect fast, seamless and secure WiFi, plus they expect all businesses to be digitally enabled. They expect digital bills, wireless payment and a host of digital experiences. SMEs who can’t offer those are losing out to competitors who offer these experiences,” says Psoulis.

Aruba, the global leader in wired, wireless and SD-WAN solutions, is meeting SME needs with its Instant On solutions, which give SMEs enterprise grade WiFi capabilities that are easy to deploy and manage, and very competitively priced.

Axiz says Aruba Instant On allows SMEs to connect wired or wireless devices easily and securely, such as point of sale systems, IOT devices, smart locks, CCTV cameras and smart TVs, and manage guest and business systems separately from the Android or Apple app and Aruba's Instant On cloud-based web portal, which is included with every Aruba Instant On access point and switch, no hidden fees. The app or cloud-based web portal allows businesses to monitor and manage access points and switches, prioritise the most important systems and set limits to control costs, save power and enhance security. Aruba Instant On uses enterprise grade security and two-factor authentication, with the option to separate business and employee traffic from customer traffic to protect company data, set hours for network availability and block specific sites and app categories.

“It’s so easy to use that SMEs don’t even need an IT department to configure and manage it,” says Psoulis. “Aruba Instant On supports a fully customisable guest WiFi access throughout a premises, for example, a restaurant or boutique hotel could easily run a guest portal, prioritise streaming services to enhance the guest experience, or they could even advertise the specials of the day using the system.” He notes that Aruba Instant On is also an ideal solution to support small offices, work from home, online learning and smart homes.

“The pricing is very competitive, particularly since there are a lot of security features, the Android or Apple app, a cloud-based web portal and enhanced warranties are included out of the box,” he says. “Security in particular shouldn’t be an add-on; it’s a must-have. On top of that, Aruba meets local demand for ease of deployment and management. It is all about the experience!”