Business Model

The business model for deploying enterprise-class WLANs in the Cisco internal environment was based upon two underlying fundamentals:

• The desire to embrace and showcase new technology where Cisco Systems led the industry

• The realization of the real and measurable benefits that wireless networks would provide to the Cisco global workforce, a workforce that was already partly "mobilized" by the provision of laptops to all staff

Defining the Business Case

The issue for Cisco IT was not whether WLANs should be deployed, because Cisco Systems had long since identified the many benefits offered by the technology, but rather determining how to cost-effectively maintain control, reduce overall support costs, ensure a secure wireless infrastructure, and still provide benefits to Cisco employees. The project team realized that WLANs would deliver productivity benefits. Additionally, Cisco already had a highly mobile workforce where almost every employee (in excess of 37,000) was issued a laptop computer. Most onsite vendors and contractors were also similarly equipped.

Potential mobility (and therefore additional productivity) was limited, however, because of one simple fact: Laptops usersindeed all userswere "tethered" to their desks by the traditional Ethernet cable. This simple fact alone negatively impacted the vast potential benefit that user mobility offered to the corporation.

The Strategic Value

The strategic value of wireless networking was characterized by five guiding principles:

• Business value WLANs should be productivity tools, enabling greater mobility for Cisco employees.

• Comprehensive entitlement Each Cisco employee, regardless of position, should have access to the global wireless network.

• Ubiquitous coverage The WLANs should be built on global, scalable standards to provide a single, worldwide wireless network.

• Security IT had to design a secure architecture that did not rely upon the then-prevalent, yet insecure, static Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) shared-key framework.

• Ease of use User friendliness and a common user experience across all Cisco sites were essential for widespread adoption.

Cisco IT identified additional security principles, including these:

• WLANs should support both privacy and access control through enterprise-class authentication and encryption capabilities.

• Network attacks must be mitigated.

• Rogue access points must be detected and remediated.