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Feras Hani , Infrastructure System
Engineer , CommScope
Connecting employees to their offices and back to the network has never been more fundamental . Now , with the focus on employee and customer health and safety , we will continue to see building owners roll-out secure VPN connections to connect customers and employees back to their offices and manage their networks differently .
This change will see greater integration and convergence between the Information Technology ( IT ) and Operational Technology ( OT ) teams as they need to make sure they maximise efficiencies and reduce the costs of the building .
We have recently noticed that the OT team is going to be implementing a lot of touchless access control . For example , they may implement several heat and temperature detecting cameras to make sure that customers , employees and visitors coming into the building are within the limits set by the government and health and safety regulations .
We ’ re going to see a lot of systems and applications on monitoring crowds and the space inside every office to ensure social distancing . IP security cameras , LED lights , Digital signage with 4k and HD will be flooded into buildings .
Can you highlight how 5G and other emerging technologies will benefit enterprises in their quest to realise Digital Transformation goals ?
We ’ re all in the process of adaptation and futureproofing . It looks like the new normal is here to stay
and we ’ re not going to go back to where we were . The networks have never played a more fundamental role as we adapt to meet the changing requirements .
When we talk about new technologies we need to think about the new emerging and the next generation technologies such as 5G and Wi-Fi 6 , and this leads to a common question around which technology should be adopted – 5G or Wi-Fi 6 ?
But why should you solely fix on one of the technologies and lock yourself in when you can have a convergence between both , These wireless and Wi-Fi networks are complementary and many enterprises will need both – as they work together across a multitude of different use-cases with differing requirements .
As we look forward to what ’ s yet to come in 2021 and beyond , we see the opportunity to leverage the network to improve organisations , so we need to drive more business outcomes by reducing costs and increasing efficiency with a focus on improved health and safety as well as a better customer and employee experience .
What tools and solutions should organisations be investing in to enable this continued digitalisation while managing increased pressure on infrastructure ?
When thinking about investment , you need to think long-term . Organisations need to invest in a converged network that is versatile , with high-performance infrastructure which is capable of handling multiple kinds of application and services at the same time
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