Of course, as the business owner, the IT manager, or the facilities manager – you won’t need to be getting down among the weeds when it comes to your structured cabling design and installation. But you do need to be asking the right questions, at the right time.
1. Think about structured cabling from the outset
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are already spending more each year on communication services. Your business might typically upgrade to new technologies or networks – say, every five years?
Yet the structured cabling that enables just about everything you do – from making video calls, to storing your data – is often around for decades. And what’s more, probably accounts for a smaller proportion of your IT budget.
If you were a building company, you wouldn’t build a brand-new housing estate on sand. So, don’t invest in costly upgrades to your IT – without giving a thought to the physical infrastructure it sits on.
2. Think ahead when it comes to cable distribution
How and where you lay your physical infrastructure is critical. Like the house analogy above – you wouldn’t want to knock the houses down to re-lay the foundations – just because you got it wrong from the outset.
Wi-fi and 5G technologies are the future, but your physical infrastructure needs to support them – so the location of cables is critical for optimum performance. This needs to be expertly designed, informed by insights you’ve helped to provide. Everything from how many people use your network and what devices they’ll be using – right through to how high your ceilings are and what safety hazards are onsite.
In the trade, they say: “For every one cable, pull another one.” Back-up cables are essential. When breakages or accidents happen, you need to be able to switch to a spare cable to save time, costs, and a lot of anguish. And with some wi-fi 6 technologies supporting two LAN connections for increased speed anyhow, it’s likely this will become a necessity for the introduction of wi-fi 7 and wi-fi 8 capabilities.
How far your cables run and what they’re attached to, are all important factors that determine how well your IT performs, and how easy you’ll be able to scale up or down in the future.
Experienced structured cabling experts are able to design solutions that not only meet today’s requirements but anticipate your future needs too.
3. Think about the type of cable you need now, and in the future
Whether you’re upgrading your technology, changing your set-up, expanding your organisation, moving location, or starting somewhere new – think seriously about what cables you already have, and what you might need to deploy going forward. It sounds obvious, but there are different types of cables, that do different types of things.
To future-proof your organisation, the minimum cable you should deploy is CAT6a – but CAT7 would be even better. Perfect for voice and data, copper data cabling may suit your budget better, compared to paying for a more expensive fibre optic alternative.
With 10Gbps switches becoming prevalent – and wi-fi 6 access points supporting connection speeds over 1Gbps – structured cabling that only supports up to 1Gbps is no longer enough. Remember, your physical infrastructure might still be there in a decade or two.
4. Think beyond data when deploying structured cabling
Structured cabling isn’t just for data transmission. Imagine an integrated network – that not only combines your communications – but your CCTV, building access and control, lighting, heating, and much more.
For many organisations, the backbone of their network – the physical infrastructure – isn’t very exciting and probably doesn’t get the focus it deserves, except when there’s a problem.
But remember, structured cabling is the enabler for how you do business today, and how you’ll want to do business tomorrow. You wouldn’t drive a brand-new Lamborghini down a dirt track. So, don’t drive your new network over old and outdated cabling.
About Connecture
Connecture are UK-wide experts in designing and delivering, large-scale cable infrastructure projects – as well as state-of-the-art intelligent, connected building technologies.
Connect with us today by calling 0115 838 4800.
