sheds ‘toy’ status to become tool

“The two main considerations came down to the size of our company and also the price point,” says Jennifer Zick, president of Reside’s Web services group. “It’s a really low-cost investment to get the kind of technology that we need. We’re not running huge servers and things here. We all just need secure Internet connections.”

Like many new businesses, Reside LLC needed to keep overhead low. So at first, the company was “virtual:” All employees worked out of their homes and the company’s network was, well, simplistic. Company meetings were held in coffee shops.

“It was very basic,” says Zick. “We all had our at-home Internet connections. Most of us were running cable Internet or DSL, mostly because we had to transfer such large files, but we even had some people with 56K dial-ups.”

Although the company’s tech lead kept backups of everything on his machine, Zick says that staff members maintained their own files.

“We had to literally send files back and forth when people needed something,” Zick recalls.

Over the past few years, wireless technology has made the switch from being a cool toy to becoming a powerful and often reasonably priced tool. Many small business owners are using wireless technology in everything from portable devices, to wireless networks, to automated wireless distribution systems.

Southview Design, a landscape design-and-build firm, used two-way radios to communicate with employees in the field. The radios were a one-time cost for the Inver Grove Heights-based company, which has annual revenue of about $6.5 million. The problem was that if office personnel needed to communicate with the field, they had to wait until someone was close enough to the truck to hear the message.

Southview Design decided to invest in wireless two-way phones, which work like walkie-talkies, for 27 of its 75 employees. Users simply scroll to the name of the person they want to communicate with and hit a button. If there is no answer, the first user can leave an alert that sounds regularly until the page is returned.

Despite the additional monthly service fees associated with the phones, Ross Iverson, president of Southview Design, says that the company has seen cost savings as a result of the new technology.

“We have very little warranty work or work that we have to redo because our managers can contact our salesperson directly” if they have a question or a problem, says Iverson.

If necessary, he adds, the sales force can contact the customer with questions and communicate answers directly to employees who are working on the project.

Many small businesses quickly begin to see the financial advantages of adopting wireless technology says Mike Ellsworth, founder and “Head Guy” of the Wi-Fi Guys, a wireless technology consulting firm. (“Wi-Fi” rhymes with “Hi-Fi.”)

“Even for a smaller enterprise, the savings can be significant,” says Ellsworth. That’s especially true of wireless networks.

“Small companies can also benefit because it’s a lot cheaper doing that than laying cable,” he says.

Another advantage to using wireless networks is their flexibility. When employees are added or moved, there’s no need to rewire workstations.

However, security can be a concern with wireless networks. Because network information is not transmitted via cable, individuals with the proper technology may be able to tap into unsecured networks.

“Security is always a concern when adopting a new technology,” admits Eric Scheel of Reside. “By enabling encryption, we have greatly reduced the potential of a drive-by hack.”

Drive-by hacks are when an outside individual gains access to a network by bringing a computer within the broadcast area of a company’s router. If the network is not properly secured, the hacker can gain access to the network. At its most benign, these hacks result in unauthorized use of the company’s bandwidth. At their more aggressive, these hacks can steal or alter network information.

Reside chose to use D-Link technology for its wireless network because of its security features.

 “D-Link products also come with very basic firewall settings, which give us good level of protection for the money,” says Scheel.

Ellsworth says that many wireless network users simply fail to turn security features on. Current security features for wireless networks can be cumbersome, he admits. And sometimes users are so excited to get the network up and running that they don’t want to be bothered with one more step.

“Sometimes it’s the last technical hurdle,” he says.

Wireless technology can also be used in industrial settings. Eden Prairie-based High Jump Software creates software that is used in combination with handheld wireless devices to automate warehouses and distribution centers. Inventory, orders and work flow are all managed via High Jump’s software and employees receive direction through their wireless devices.

“There’s been a big transition” in the use of this type of technology, says Chris Heim, president and CEO of High Jump. “It used to be when we started that these types of solutions were only for the very large companies. And what we’ve seen is huge growth in mid-market and what we call tier three, or the smaller companies.”

Heim says that for many of High Jump’s customers the benefits of increased efficiency are seen quickly.