As users become increasingly mobile and business applications become more interactive, innovative wireless services and applications are critical in helping companies maintain agility and differentiation. Cisco Systems® addresses the need for enterprise-class wireless connectivity with the Cisco® Unified Wireless Network. This unified wired and wireless solution delivers the industry's best wireless LAN security, innovation, and investment protection. The Cisco Unified Wireless Network supports real-time business-critical applications and creates a secure, mobile, interactive workplace for organizations deploying WLANs. This document introduces the products, features, benefits, and future migration plans of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network.

Challenge

A worldwide revolution is occurring in business. Wi-Fi enabled notebook computers are proliferating and driving the adoption of enterprise wireless LANs (WLANs)-making business mobile. Unlike past technology advancements that were driven by technology professionals, the explosion of enterprise WLANs is being driven by mobile users, traveling executives, wireless applications, and mobility services like voice services, guest access, enhanced security, and location services. The acceleration of enterprise adoption of WLAN technology is radically transforming business operations, the network edge, data centers, and centralized IT control.

Today's business climate requires anywhere, anytime connectivity. Mobility changes the way organizations do business. Real-time interaction, instant messaging, text paging, voice services, network access while traveling, and real-time network access in the office are transforming the business environment. In an increasingly competitive business environment, companies need fast responses and want immediate results.
WLANs are now business-critical. End users are embracing the freedom and flexibility of wireless connectivity, and business executives are recognizing the competitive advantage of business-critical mobile applications. Organizations are deploying WLANs to increase employee productivity, enhance collaboration, and improve responsiveness to customers.

The increasing need for anytime connectivity is creating new challenges for today's networking professionals, who must respond to the growing demand for WLANs in an era of tight budgets and reduced resources. These networking professionals are discovering that in the absence of a corporate sanctioned wireless network, employees are deploying their own unauthorized access points that put the entire network at risk.
Network managers need to protect their networks and deliver secure WLAN access for their organizations. They need a wireless infrastructure that embraces the unique attributes of radio frequency (RF) technology and effectively supports today's business applications. They need to keep their wired network secure while laying a foundation for the smooth integration of new applications that embrace wireless technology. Network managers need a WLAN solution that takes full advantage of existing tools, knowledge, and network resources to cost-effectively address critical WLAN security, deployment, and control issues.

Solution

The Cisco Unified Wireless Network is the industry's only unified wired and wireless solution to deliver cost-effective wireless networks for business critical mobility. This innovative solution brings mobility to endpoint devices and users, providing them with anytime, anywhere network access. This award-winning solution delivers industry-leading mobility services that enable innovative applications to streamline business operations and improve productivity.

The Cisco Unified Wireless Network combines the best elements of wireless and wired networking to deliver scalable, manageable, and secure WLANs with a low total cost of ownership. It includes innovative RF capabilities that enable real-time access to core business applications and provides proven enterprise-class secure connectivity. The Cisco Unified Wireless Network delivers the same level of security, scalability, reliability, ease of deployment, and management for wireless LANs that organizations expect from their wired LANs.

The Cisco Unified Wireless Network is an integrated end-to-end solution that addresses all layers of the WLAN, from client devices and access points, to the network infrastructure, to network management, to the delivery of advanced wireless services integration and award-winning, worldwide, 24-hour product support. It delivers the industry's best wireless LAN security, innovation, and investment protection. It is the only solution to integrate innovative access point technology with an award-winning centralized management system, intelligent control, real-time location services and a wide array of interoperable Cisco Compatible client devices.
The Cisco Unified Wireless Network helps reduce overall operational expenses by simplifying network deployment, operations, and management. With this solution, several, hundreds, or thousands of central or remotely located access points can be easily managed from a centralized management console. The flexibility of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network allows network managers to design networks to meet their specific needs, whether implementing highly integrated network designs or simple overlay networks.

Building Enterprise-Class Wireless LANs

The Cisco Unified Wireless Network is deployable in corporate offices, hospitals, retail stores, manufacturing floors, warehouse environments, educational institutions, financial institutions, local and national government organizations, and other locations worldwide. It supports Wi-Fi enabled business applications and active RFID devices for a variety of uses, including mobile healthcare, inventory management, retail point-of-sale, video surveillance, real-time data access, asset tracking, and network visibility.

The Cisco Unified Wireless Network enables on-the-road access from venues such as public hotspots, hotels, convention centers, and airports for mobile users and traveling executives. It delivers real-time mobility services to a variety of business environments, providing enhanced security, voice services, guest access and location services for campus and branch offices. Customers can confidently deploy the Cisco Unified Wireless Network knowing that their investment is protected.

With the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, now you can...

		Un-tether employees from their desks to create a more responsive and collaborative work environment
		Access information anytime, anywhere
		Build mobility directly into the network
		Increase employee productivity and responsiveness while achieving a solid return on investment for the wireless network