With increasingly stringent PCI standards, retailers must maintain extremely tight controls over the configuration of their network infrastructure. AirWave's automated compliance audit feature automatically compares the configuration of every device to your policy -- and generates a high-priority alert whenever a variance is detected.

The retail IT staff typically works in the NOC, hundreds ot thousands of miles away from the retail stores, distribution centers and remote offices. AirWave's remote monitoring and configuration capabilities allow problems to be diagnosed and addressed quickly -- without having to dispatch a technician.Â

In a large retail organization, there are literally dozens of IT staff members from different teams (retail stores, distribution centers, corporate, etc.) who need to use the wireless management solution. Each has a different role -- and should be permitted to view different information. The network engineer on the retail team should control infrastructure in store facilities -- but not at corporate HQ. And the qualified network engineer should be permitted to make configuration changes to devices, while the Help Desk should not. AirWave's flexible role-based administrative access solution allows you to tailor each individual's level of access for his or her specific role in your organization.

Retailers are perhaps the most likely organizations to use multiple different wireless technologies for different environments and applications: 'thin' APs in corporate headquarters, autonomous APs in store locations, and even mesh networks in vast hard-to-cable distribution centers. Some retailers are even using mesh technology in store parking lots, to connect wireless security cameras on lightpoles. No matter how many different technologies are used, AMP provides a single console for integrated management.

Since it may take years (and millions of dollars) to install wireless in each of thousands of store locations, retailers need to extend the lifecycle of that hardware as long as possible -- adding 1-2 years of hardware lifespan can literally save millions.  AirWave provides robust support for both state-of-the-art current generation products as well as legacy support dating back to the earliest days of Wi-Fi.

Retailers may select different hardware vendors or even different wireless network architectures for different operating environments, using rugged industrial access points in distribution centers and more conventional access points in office environments. The combination of Symbol APs in retail stores and distribution centers with Cisco APs in corporate headquarters is especially common. AMP provides a single, common interface that lets administrators seamlessly manage heterogeneous devices from multiple vendors.

Installers sweeping from one retail store location to another need to move fast. AirWave makes it easy to automatically configure each AP and controller as they are connected, eliminating time-consuming and error-prone manual processes.

Since retail networks can easily reach 25,000+ access points, scalability is critical. With the AirWave Master Console, no matter how big the wireless network grows, you still have one integrated console for monitoring and management.

Security-conscious retailers cannot tolerate rogue access points. Yet, IDS systems with hardware sensors may take years to deploy in thousands of locations. AirWave's RAPIDS module, with wired network scanning, makes it easy to detect rogues anywhere on the network without proprietary sensors.