Wires may connote a busy office full of the latest equipment, but wires can be an inefficient networking medium. The can only carry a signal so far, and you have to physically move and rearrange them if you want to reorganize your network configuration. Wires do not add to the aesthetic appearance of your computing setup, either. While wires are the traditional medium for creating networks, they aren't always the best. Wireless networking is a viable and affordable alternative to traditional wired networks that gives you the same benefits without cumbersome and limiting wires.
In a wireless network, all of the computers broadcast their information to one another using radio signals. This can make networking extremely easy, especially when you have computers throughout your office. When you don't have to work with wires you can more easily reconfigure your office space as your company grows and changes, and you can also extend connectivity to new or visiting staff quickly and easily. A wireless network gives employees increased mobility and allows then to share files, printers, other computing devices, and Internet access without wires.
For example, your staff can use laptops with a wireless network card at a conference room table and still be connected to your network -- without worrying about whether the conference room is actually wired for access. From their networked computer they can share files, printers, and Internet access just as they would if there were connected to the LAN with wires. Meetings can be more productive as participants have access to the information they need when they need it and can begin work on, if not complete, action items right in the meeting.
Wireless LANs can be part of a completely wireless network, or an extension of your wired LAN. In the real world, you probably won't switch from a wired LAN to a wireless LAN overnight, but will instead integrate wireless into your network as it makes sense and meets your needs. Once you have a thorough understanding of what wireless can do for you, and what it takes to integrate it into your current systems, you can better proceed down the path to a wireless networking solution.
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