Page 135 - Security Today, September 2018

PICTURE A DAY IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE
Imagine walking into the hotel, and your device with the hotel app installed automatically connects to the hotel Wi-Fi network. Through location-based services, the network knows you’ve arrived, and you are automatically assigned a room and notified of the room number by your device. Tired from a day of traveling, you skip the registration desk and head directly to your assigned room, using the hotel map automatically pushed to your device.
This is where it gets pretty neat. You arrive at their room and instead of fighting with a hit-or-miss keypad, you use the installed digital key on your device used to open the room door. You enter a perfectly personalized room. The TV is turned on and tuned to your chosen channel or app, or your favorite music and artist is streaming. The thermostat is adjusted to your ideal temperature, the curtains are either drawn or opened, and the room lighting is set based on the time of day and your preferences. You can relax and finish the movie you were watching on the plane while enjoying the room service meal ordered in advance. Pretty good.
EVERYONE WINS
This type of personalization is beneficial to the hotel owners as well. For not only are they building customer loyalty, but every time you leave for the day or eventually check out, your room is returned to an efficient state. TV, music, and lights are powered off. The thermostat is adjusted for energy efficiency, and curtains are closed or opened for energy savings. Everybody wins, which is why both Hilton Worldwide and Marriott are in a race to see who can offer the first and best comprehensive smart room experience.
For while this new guest experience is possible today, putting the correct IoT and Wi-Fi network in place is
critical. IoT technology is fragmented today with many standards and devices, creating the need for multiple networks (Zigbee, BLE, Wi-Fi, private LTE) to support the applications to make this guest experience a reality. Multiple networks result in an extraordinarily complex and costly network that is challenging to support.
WHAT ABOUT THE NETWORK?
Simplifying and securing the hospitality network may be where the answer lies. New wireless access points from Ruckus deliver more than exceptional Wi-Fi— they also enable a single, secure wireless network for all Wi-Fi, IoT and LTE technologies. This significantly reduces complexity, cost of implementation, and ongoing support and management.
The Ruckus IoT Suite includes open APIs for easy and secure integration with a variety of IoT device partners, using any of the most-accepted IoT technology platforms. And because security is a key issue with this enhanced guest experience, Ruckus bundles security best-practices—including digital certificates, traffic isolation, physical security, and encryption—to ensure hotel networks remains secure as IoT devices are added.
We’re stepping into a brave new world of hospitality. And while travelers aren’t expecting robot valets (yet), they are looking for the technology comforts they enjoy at home without fear of security leaks. And while that smart room solution includes several parts, remember that it’s only as strong as the network on which it resides.
ScanSource Networking and Security Focus FALL 2018 | 22