Companies have a long history of using Wireless alternatives to connect different elements of the business. With the passage of time and the evolution of the technologies themselves, they have been adopting the latest proposals coming onto the market, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or the different generations of mobile communications, of which the star today is 5G.

Necessity rules: according to the consulting firm, Gartner, there are close to 8 billion Internet of Things devices that use edge computing (i.e. network points linked to the cloud that process data right where it is generated, without transferring it to datacenters) that seek to connect to the IT infrastructure of organizations.

Two-way evolution

For this reason, in the near future, an integrated wireless services strategy may be the starting point for adding value to the business. When you look at the roadmaps of the main technology proposals in the wireless world, you find that improvements are moving in two directions.

On one hand, communications are continuously evolving, delivering improved levels of performance, ubiquity (emerging constellations of low-Earth orbit satellites bringing connectivity to regions that used to be unconnected) and experience. Such is the case of the zero latency of 5G networks, which will enable the use of extremely performance-demanding applications (such as a video game or 3D exploration) in real time.

On the other hand, and perhaps this is the most interesting path, the functionalities that these technologies are adding go far beyond mere communication between two points.

Innovation is accelerating

The convergence of all these technological options represents an opportunity to further accelerate innovation and incorporate new digital services for different types of users and different contexts. Gartner quantified this phenomenon: it says that by 2025, 50% of enterprise wireless endpoints will use network services that offer additional capabilities beyond communication (those that appeal only to communication will be less than 15%).

What are these additional features? Detection of activity and environmental elements to optimize performance according to the context, threat prevention with integrated security, energy gathering and optimization (so that a device can continue to operate when it is about to run out of battery power by drawing power from other network elements, for example), location tracking of users and assets to manage emergencies (including continuous monitoring of workers to ensure safety conditions at all times in an automated manner and according to established parameters), vehicle-to-vehicle communications and integrated processing are just some of these possibilities.

Regarding wireless energy gathering: this will mean that battery-free operation using protocols such as Bluetooth and NFC will be possible.

Multiple business benefits

From a business benefit perspective, this integration of next-generation wireless technologies will not only drive a better customer experience, but also reduce costs as investments in different technologies will converge into a single strategy. Moreover, security breaches are reduced as protection is also unified, and risks are minimized thanks to detection and monitoring functions.

A converged wireless strategy offers significant business value to organizations that venture down this path. The opportunity is – literally – in the air.