HPE Aruba Gives Small Businesses Simplified, Business-class Wi-Fi with the Ease of a Mobile App

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, today announced a new Wi-Fi solution designed to give small businesses secure and reliable business-grade Wi-Fi with easy to set-up APs and an intuitive mobile app. The HPE OfficeConnect OC20 is a cost-effective wireless solution designed for businesses without dedicated IT resources. With OC20, small businesses or their channel partners can rapidly deploy and manage Wi-Fi for small business across all vertical industries.

Small business owners are embracing smartphones, tablets, and cloud applications. Nearly half (43%) of small business owners use a smartphone over Wi-Fi as the primary device to run their operations, and 65% are conducting bookkeeping and accounting on cloud-based apps, demonstrating the need for reliable, ubiquitous wireless connectivity.[1] While the competitive and operational benefits of mobility are clear, the gating factor is often installation and configuration. Small businesses tend to have limited IT resources, so the option for quick self set-up or configuration with the assistance of a channel partner is essential.

Aruba’s new HPE OfficeConnect OC20 wireless solution addresses these challenges by offering small businesses an intuitive and cost-effective wireless solution that is simple to manage without technical expertise. Resellers can now offer small business customers a fast, business-grade Wi-Fi solution that keeps their employees connected and productive.

“Small and medium businesses are a critical growth engine for economies in Southeast Asia. According to International Data Corporation’s research, Asia is the third largest region for small business IT spend, demonstrating that these businesses increasingly rely on innovation and technology to deliver value to their customers. With the HPE OfficeConnect OC20, small business owners can focus on their business goals and increasing productivity with the knowledge that they have strong network infrastructure in place,” said Justin Chiah,  Director and General Manager (SEA and Taiwan), Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company.

Fewer headaches with a reliable business-grade solution

The OC20 APs deliver high performance and reliable Wi-Fi connectivity to handle today’s business critical applications including voice, video and cloud-based applications. They intelligently optimize wireless coverage and performance, while minimizing interference for a powerful end-user experience. Built-in website filtering blocks access to malicious websites to protect the small business network from online threats, as well as inappropriate or non-compliant websites.

Reduce set-up time with intuitive mobile app

Using the OfficeConnect mobile app, a business or its resellers can configure and monitor a network in minutes from any location. Multiple offices can be managed at once, and IT or the user’s channel partner can quickly respond to network changes and outages remotely without network downtime.

When businesses are ready to expand their network, new OC20 APs can automatically join the network and will copy their configuration settings from a previously configured OC20 AP. Business owners or their channel partners can create an optional and separate guest network with a choice of open guest access, simple password sign-in or Facebook Wi-Fi log-in, including their company logo for a branded Wi-Fi experience.

Manage on-the-go with remote monitoring and troubleshooting

The OfficeConnect iOS or Android mobile application offers intuitive remote monitoring and troubleshooting. A network health dashboard provides network visibility at a glance, including information about wireless performance, number of devices, and who is connected to the Wi-Fi network.

In addition to the OC20 Access Point, Aruba also offers the OfficeConnect 1920S switch, which secures and extends small business networks. The 1920S can also be monitored by the OfficeConnect mobile app.

 

The HPE OfficeConnect solution helps small businesses do more with less – enabling them to share resources and collaborate like an business-grade network, without the complex set-up. Whether they’re just starting out or planning to expand their business, with OfficeConnect, small businesses and the channel partners who serve them can deploy a business-grade wireless solution to support their needs at each stage of their growth.