Wireless VoIP and video implementations set to fail

That’s the key finding of a study commissioned by SAS Group, which reveals that fully half of manufacturing firms expect existing IT staff to take on wireless networks without any training. Indeed none of the companies it surveyed intend to recruit staff for the job, and SAS is warning that, while it can be straightforward to implement wireless for data, if you want QoS-dependent applications, such as voice and video, specialist planning and support is essential. SAS expects projects either to remain at the data level or for wireless voice to fail, unless businesses start wising up to the investment required in skills to manage them. “Much has been said about the so-called technical shortcomings of WLANs, particularly issues surrounding security and reliability. However, whilst major advances have been made to ensure that business-critical services, such as voice, can run successfully over wireless, these have not been accompanied by investment in wireless networking skills,” says Charles Davis, CEO, the SAS Group. “With manufacturing firms particularly reluctant to recruit or train staff, their wireless networks are destined to remain data only and they will miss out on the potential benefits of mobility,” he adds. SAS makes the point that wireless IPT and fixed mobile convergence (FMC) deployments not only require the correct configuration of access points and ongoing management and monitoring of QoS; they also require that users can roam from cell to cell without interruption or loss of calls. While email or ERP systems will tolerate a slight pause in data transfer as users roam around plants, any such disruption would be unacceptable for voice, warns the company. . “Services such as FMC and wireless IPT are hugely attractive to manufacturing firms where a large proportion of employees need to travel around and between sites,” continued Davis. “However, the benefit of these services will only be realised if underlying wireless networks are set up to let users roam. To achieve this, IT departments need to gain competencies in cellular networking – a skill set more commonly associated with mobile operators, and not in the comfort zone of most manufacturers.”