The IT Experts

Where 5G Stands

While 5G has appeared in marketing efforts for some time, 2020 was the first time that it was practically applied anywhere. Here are the three benefits that 5G is staged to provide:

1. Lower latency - The technology promises to basically eliminate the latency issues people have with their wireless cellular applications.
2. Increased rates - Faster wireless speeds allow data to be transmitted, providing users with content quicker. 
3. Enhanced capacity - As 5G grows, more devices will be able to be connected, meaning more can be done.

Of course, an upgrade to cellular networking requires an effort from a few parties. Not only does the infrastructure need to be implemented to support them, but manufacturers also need to develop and produce devices that have 5G capabilities.

How 5G Can Impact the IoT

The prevalence of the Internet of Things has been increasing, with the total number of devices classified as such estimated in the 24 billion range in 2020. Once latency is no longer an issue thanks to 5G, the capabilities of the IoT will be much more than they are with 4G LTE, making the IoT far more viable. Just think about what devices can do, and how quickly, with access to speeds that could download an entire movie in 1080p somewhere between 8 to 10 seconds—potentially changing a lot. For instance:

1. Manufacturing – Of all industries, manufacturing will likely see the most impact. The low-latency, high-speed connections means that business can happen in virtual real time, with massive amounts of data processed and rendered to make decision-making simpler and a more dynamic process. This means quality control, procurement, distribution, and customer relationship management all improve as smart technology actively tracks and reports data at remarkable speed. 
2. Supply chain – The current levels of oversight required for supply trade management are considerable. IoT has been slowly being deployed to make this process more efficient, but with the 5G connectivity and reporting issues that today’s smart devices have, it will improve businesses’ ability to manage their supply chain effectively. 
3. Municipal – Municipal services have recently seen the benefits of the IoT by means of automation. With the implementation of 5G and IoT, you will begin to see “smart cities” developed where essential utilities such as water, sewer, traffic, and electricity are all managed using IoT devices that modulate the need for changes to these systems with very little human oversight: saving taxpayers gobs of cash. 
4. Autonomous vehicles – While autonomous vehicles have been planned for some time, 5G connectivity could be what makes them practicable. This not only includes taxis and other car services, but it also includes the multi-billion-dollar shipping industry. A lot of information goes into making an autonomous vehicle safe for road use, and with 5G you will finally have the speed and reduction of latency to make it a viable situation.
5. Healthcare – With the amount of data that healthcare organizations send and receive, 5G could help boost its efficiency significantly. Today, these systems are useful but are often marginalized by the speeds and latency of modern Internet connections. With gigabit speeds and very little perceptible latency, you will begin to see that all information that is needed for every patient is there on demand. 

With the emergence of 5G, society could stand to see some significant improvements by applying it to the Internet of Things. What improvements do you think will be most impactful? Share your thoughts in the comments, and make sure to come back to our blog for more!

What is Hosted Hardware?

Don’t worry, it’s never called that. Typically, it is known as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and it is the procurement of a virtualized computing infrastructure hosted in the cloud. For a long time, companies would buy and maintain servers to store and disseminate information. As the business world started to trust cloud security more and more, companies began to consider just getting the computing they need in the cloud. Today, the cloud infrastructure market has pushed past $100 billion and is growing at over 14 percent per year. 

Coinciding with this was a major shift in the way that cloud tools were sold. For a long time, you could get cloud-hosted desktop platforms where you would have all your applications and storage in a dashboard of sorts, but as application development became more sophisticated, huge companies took over the cloud market. The who’s who of Internet companies started selling cloud tools. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google provide hosted infrastructure packages that provide options to any business looking to refresh, expand, or completely revolutionize their company's central computing infrastructure. 

 IaaS provides companies with the on-demand computing resources they need. This includes network, storage, servers, and any platforms and software that is required to run the business. Not only does this give organizations the scalability to get exactly the amount of computing they need for their business, it also provides some of the following benefits:

1. Better performance - Since your IaaS platform is managed and maintained by the service provider, businesses have access to more reliable and robust infrastructure than they would typically have if they purchased their own servers. 
2. Powerful security - For years, this was the big bug-a-boo with cloud platforms, but today, with evident security threats everywhere, cloud providers spare no expense to protect their infrastructure and their clients’ investments.
3. Enhanced flexibility - By having access to basically unlimited computing resources, it gives an organization a lot of flexibility in their current and future IT decision making. 
4. Built-in redundancy - Not only is all of the computing infrastructure backed up and available, cloud providers have a lot of options to support Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity platforms. 
5. Consistent Pricing - Companies that utilize IaaS know their computing costs. While it isn’t the static price you see with Software-as-a-Service, IaaS does have pretty transparent pricing and gives businesses that know their underlying traffic to successfully predict their computing costs. 

IaaS isn’t just for companies looking to get the powerful central computing infrastructure they need, without the massive expense of buying new servers, it is great for startups, established companies that are looking to expand their remote workforce, and more. If you would like to talk about joining the companies who are already using IaaS, give KB Technologies Managed IT a call today at (954) 834-2800.

Consumer Routers Vs. Business Routers

Your hardware is going to be the first variable you need to commit some attention to when it comes to your Wi-Fi. For you to have Internet access at all, there needs to be some means for the Internet provider to get the signal to you—typically, via a line run into your office that connects to a modem, possibly a modem/router combination that many cable companies will rent to their subscribers for a fee.

A business has different needs, so this approach isn’t exactly sufficient. We advise that a business invest in their own networking hardware to maintain more control over this hardware and the specifications that it possesses.

There are a few critical considerations to keep in mind when selecting your router.

Tips for Finding the Right Router

Rather than spending $50 or so on a consumer-level router, a business should invest in one designed for its needs. These can cost anywhere in the range of $200 to $1000, and you generally get what you pay for. Lean on your IT resource or KB Technologies Managed IT for assistance in evaluating your business’ requirements so that you get the router that best fulfills them.

When you select your router, you should make sure that it checks the following boxes:

• WPA protection - Your business’ router needs to enhance network security. The router should have Wi-Fi Protected Access encryption built-in (WPA, WPA2, WPA3)  and also have a built-in firewall.
• Multiple band support - Most routers today come with dual-band support built in. Depending on where your router is placed using both the 2.4 Ghz and the 5.0 Ghz bands can enhance your Wi-Fi network extensively. 
• Multiple LAN and WAN Ports - A good rule of thumb is that you want at least three local area network (LAN) ports and at least one wide area network (WAN) port. 
• Virtual Private Network - The VPN built into the router allows for additional encryption to be made to data when it’s sent and received.
• Speed through protocol support - Your business’ router needs to support fast and secure wireless connections. That means it at least must support the 802.11n protocol. Most modern routers will support the 802.11ac protocol, which is markedly faster.
• Gigabit ports - Some devices should be connected directly into the router. For these systems, you need fast ethernet connections available. 

Tips for Placing Your Router

Once you know that you have the hardware that best suits your business’ requirements, you need to make sure that you position it correctly in your office. Even if you get the best Internet package your ISP offers, it can only do so much if your hardware isn’t properly placed. To ensure you get the speed that you’re investing into, the following steps and practices will help:

• Pick a central location - Obviously, the more centralized your router is placed, the better.
• Raise it off the floor - The higher up you can install your router the fewer obstructions you will likely have.
• Don’t place the router near other electronics - The more obstructions, the worse your signal strength will be. Some electronics, like microwaves, can interfere with 2.4 GHz bands.
• Map out signal before installing everything - If you have a router that doesn’t cover the breadth of your property, you should map out your Wi-Fi strength so you know where extenders will be the most helpful. 

It is our hope that this article will assist you in implementing the right hardware for your needs in the way that best suits your operations. For more assistance, feel free to give us a call at (954) 834-2800, and don’t forget to check back in with our blog.