How much does it cost? A simple question, that for many other industries can be answered without ever talking to a sales person. However, when it comes to Wi-Fi and networking or in this case WiFi as a Service, getting someone to give you a price hasn’t been easy.
Whether you were upgrading your current wireless network or adding Wi-Fi and networking services to a new location, the reason why you haven’t been able to get an answer about price was and still is complexity.
Calculating the true cost of your business Wi-Fi network takes a lot of engineering to produce. The variables can include:
- building materials
- building dimensions
- how many floors do you have
- how many buildings
- what types of objects are inside the building
- what applications are being used
- what types of devices are being used to run those applications
- how many devices are there etc.
It also takes a lot of experience and skill to produce a quality wireless network design, something many VARs and other consultants you’ll find just don’t have.
For nearly all businesses the process starts with putting together a budgetary quote. However, with traditional quotes taking up to 30 days or more (and they still might be incorrect) how can businesses (especially SMBs) speed up the time it takes to get an accurate estimate of what their new project will cost?
Ready to get your budgetary quote? Give our quoting tool a try now!
Below is a breakdown of our solution to this problem and how you can get an accurate estimate within in minutes, not weeks.
Before we go any further
It should be said that our quoting tool is ideally suited for environments that are no larger than 100,000 square feet in size.
What we’ve learned from engineering large, complex environments (hospitals, college campuses, airports, warehouses/manufacturing facilities) for the last 12+ years, is that once you get over this threshold the complexity we mentioned requires more engineering to put together an accurate budgetary quote.
However, this still can be done in far less time than 30 days, typically no more than 2 weeks.
How our Quoting Tool Works
Our quoting tool has been built using data we’ve obtained from again, doing nothing but engineering Wi-Fi and networking systems over the last decade. As we continue to deploy new systems our tool learns, so over-time it will get smarter and more accurate.
As of now the process takes four steps.
Step 1: Choose your industry – We start with industry to set a foundation of the type of environment where your network wireless system will be deployed.
Step 2: Choose the size of your coverage area – Next, we need to know approximately how many square feet will require coverage. We give you several sizes to choose from, and if you happen to know the square footage, a place to input that exact number into the tool.
Step 3: Choose the number of users connecting to your network – In addition to coverage, another critical piece of the equation is capacity. Learn more about the importance of designing for capacity here
Step 4: How soon do you need to deploy? – This final question, while it won’t impact your estimate, allows us to have an idea of when your project will need to be completed should you choose to move forward. Being organized, especially with timelines is an important factor when successfully deploying Wi-Fi as a Service.
End – The entire process takes less than 2 minutes and what you’re left with are two options. One quote for a professional-level Wi-Fi as a Service solution and a second for an enterprise-level WaaS solution.
What’s Next?
In addition to your two Wi-Fi as a Service budgetary estimates, you’ll get a detailed breakdown of what’s included and how Wi-Fi as a Service works. You’ll also receive an email with your results, so you can take it with you and email anyone else involved.
At this point, if either of these numbers looks in the ballpark of what you had in mind, you can book a meeting with one of our Mobility Account Managers to get started. If you have any questions about your estimate you can also follow the “Get Started” link to choose a time/date that works best for you to speak with our team.
Pretty easy huh?
There will need to be some fine-tuning of your estimate to make sure the design matches everything you’ll need, but it gives you an accurate starting point for your project.
If you’re an enterprise-sized company with multiple buildings or a complex environment like in healthcare, our tool can still be used to give you a basic idea.
However, if you’re a small to medium-sized business and you don’t think you can afford an enterprise-grade wireless system or are unsure, our quoting tool is perfect for you.
