Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi has partnered with Aruba Networks to become the first hotel in the Middle East to implement a 802.11ac wireless network, allowing guests to access gigabit wireless across the property.
UAE IT service company, MDS UAE guided the hotel through a six-month selection period after which Aruba Networks’ 802.11ac solution and advanced wireless security was chosen.
Commenting on his organization's decision Emirates Palace director of IT and AV Mehmet Akdeniz said: “We remain committed to offering our guests a truly remarkable experience. When we noticed that guest usage of bandwidth-hungry mobile applications was becoming a norm, we committed to deploying a solution that would meet their high expectations for the next four to five years. This is why we opted for Aruba’s gigabit Wi-Fi solution.”
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Additionally, the new system can be controlled centrally with administrators able to make rapid changes to the network and its security settings. This has allowed the hotel to customise the network and offer fast solutions, particularly to corporate guests during meetings.
Akdeniz explained: “We no longer waste precious manpower tending to labour intensive processes. Everything is easily managed from one location and our visibility into every element of the network has enabled proactive troubleshooting and has improved our reaction time. Complaints about poor network performance have virtually disappeared and our business customers are often amazed to find how quickly we can accommodate their connectivity requirements.”
Akdeniz believes that the Aruba solution will allow the hotel to deliver new features and capabilities to guests. While the wireless infrastructure is currently used to support Internet services, point of sales and digital signage, the new network can allow a range of new guest services.
Emirates Palace already has plans under way to offer internet TV, online gaming for children, music streaming and smart device-controlled operation of in-room entertainment, all of which will rely on the increased bandwidth offered by the new wireless solution.
“In the hospitality sector today, simply providing wireless is practically a given. But not all wireless is equal and this is something that our guests will be able to recognise instantly. We now have a solution that enables us to improve their experience in ways that they have not even considered as of yet. This is the kind of service excellence that Emirates Palace is synonymous with and we are happy to say that Aruba has been an enabler of our success,” concluded Akdeniz.
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