| | April 20178CIOReviewIn My OpinionWireless First for Microsoft EmployeesBy Brent Hermanson, Principal Manager, Microsoft [NASDAQ:MSFT]Real-time collaboration and modern work environments require people to be mobile and untethered from their traditional desktops. Our employees expect a seamless wireless experience across multiple devices, starting with ease of connecting to our network and freedom of movement while they are online. In addition, guests at Microsoft facilities for sales, training, or demonstrations expect a seamless wireless connection and fast, reliable internet connectivity. Coverage and capacity are essential, as modern workforces push more bandwidth over the wireless spectrum and a saturated network results in the same frustrations as having no wireless capability at all. Microsoft IT's Wireless JourneyWhen speaking, and working, with peers in other enterprises, a common strategy that emerges is "Wi-Fi first" wherein Wi-Fi becomes the primary access method for user connectivity. Within Microsoft, our IT environment experienced the same shift, informally at first as employees shifted from desktops to laptops and tablets. At the same time, our employees maintained administrative rights and flexibility in their device choices, which presents unique benefits and challenges. For our IT team, this case presented a challenge because the connectivity demands moved to wireless before we in IT fully understood the scope of how our operating models and designs needed to evolve.Today, we are in a great position because of focused efforts on design, operations and relationships with other groups in Microsoft. Hopefully, other organizations that are on a similar journey can adapt some of these learning to match their own environments and cultures.· Improved RF design: Modern office designs require changes to established RF design guidelines to accommodate layouts with high user density and large conference rooms. Ensuring access point placement in proper locations with enough capacity and appropriate power levels wasn't a new practice; however, it was essential to improve rigor here as we removed fixed network capacity. Additionally, as Brent Hermanson
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