General Enterprise Systems

In the past, the implementation of a wireless LAN was relatively expensive, compared to the higher-performing ethernet networks. This required a wireless LAN application to provide a tremendous gain in efficiency to make it cost-effective. As a result, most existing applications of wireless LANs are in markets such as healthcare, warehousing, and retail, where mobility provided efficiency gains capable of significantly lowering operational costs. With wireless LAN prices continuing to drop and performance increasing, however, many enterprise information system managers are beginning to consider seriously the use of wireless LANs instead of traditional ethernet. The benefits are to provide mobile and portable access to general network functions such as e-mail, Internet browsing, access to databases, and so on and eliminate the time and expense of installing and supporting physical cable. Thus, wireless LANs are now effectively satisfying applications in horizontal markets.