The state of business Wi-Fi right now

The business landscape isn't just changing fast-it's transforming at the speed of AI. Networking teams now face challenges their Wi-Fi isn't built for. AI and IoT operations need continuous, often instant access to data. Device proliferation is clogging up networks. And unmanaged devices are increasing risk exposure.

Without the right approach, network bottlenecks become business bottlenecks. That means more support tickets, more security incidents, and less time spent focusing on business growth.

The solution is simple: enhanced performance, resilience, and security with Wi-Fi 7.

Why businesses need faster, more secure Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7 uses advancements like wider channels and multi-link operation (MLO) to dramatically transform network performance. If your business depends on high-speed connectivity (looking at you retail, manufacturing, and financial services), the outcomes are tangible:

• Drastically lower latency
• Much higher bandwidth for data-intensive apps
• Faster data transfer speeds
• Enhanced network reliability

By implementing Wi-Fi 7 solutions, you'll be able to support everything from 4K and 8K video streaming to data-hungry AI applications with ease.

Wi-Fi 7 also provides security enhancements by incorporating Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3). As your network scales and your company grows, WPA3 enables more advanced encryption and authentication methods, ensuring more reliable connectivity for employees and customers.

Why companies of all sizes are moving to Wi-Fi 7

What do the most successful companies across industries consistently deliver? Experiences. And every experience in today's digital-first world depends on the power of the network. Wi-Fi 7 unlocks new, bespoke experiences at scale, securely-no matter the retail location, event venue, or crowd size.

When you move to Wi-Fi 7, you can expect massive upgrades, like:

• Ultra-high performance: 4x data transfer rates compared to Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, and 2x wider channels up to 320 MHz.
• Built-in security: WPA3 certification with mandatory Protected Management Frames to protect against deauthentication attacks.
• Simplified IT operations: Flexible management across cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environments.
• AI-driven assurance: Predicts and resolves issues proactively, ensuring consistent, high-quality connectivity.

Now, let's take a look at Cisco Wi-Fi 7 in action.

How a global retailer delivers bespoke experiences with Wi-Fi 7

Samsøe Samsøe is a retailer that puts innovative customer experiences first. With 69 locations in 19 countries, creating those differentiated experiences in every store is no easy feat.

Then they moved to a cloud-first, wireless-first model with Cisco. By deploying Wi-Fi 7 access points in stores, Samsøe Samsøe made in-store experiences unique and frictionless for customers.

Picture this:

• Joining the loyalty program with one tap
• Syncing instantly with POS and automatically connecting to Wi-Fi in every store
• Using Wi-Fi 7 infrastructure to gain actionable insights into customer behavior
• Experiencing innovations like smart dressing rooms that simplify try-before-you-buy

Advanced Wi-Fi 7 features like high throughput, location services, and OpenRoaming data make it all possible. Best of all, these outcomes are repeatable. With the Meraki dashboard, Samsøe Samsøe can use network templates to spin up new locations with 300% fewer IT resources.

But retail isn't the only industry where Wi-Fi 7 use cases are changing the game.

Event experiences in the AI era: Live Nation and BottleRock

Live Nation Entertainment produces 40,000 shows and 100 festivals every year, and BottleRock Napa Valley continues to be a marquee event.

This year, Live Nation's production team had clear goals:

• Provide secure, high-performance connectivity for thousands of simultaneous users in a high-density environment
• Support massive real-time data transfer volumes without hiccups
• Ensure zero downtime during peak moments
• Deliver comprehensive network and operational visibility to manage crowd flow, security, and vendor transactions

The math was daunting: 55,000 unique Wi-Fi users, more than 20,000 concurrent connections, 44 terabytes of data, and three days of unforgettable festival experiences.

Cisco and partner Clair Global delivered advanced wireless solutions to meet these goals. The new Cisco Wireless 9179F large public venue access point and Catalyst 9300 switches provided robust, low-latency, high-bandwidth connectivity. Thanks to OpenRoaming, festivalgoers enjoyed password-free, automatic, and secure Wi-Fi access for more convenient event experiences.

Live Nation also leveraged AI area occupancy and presence analytics directly on Cisco MV cameras to get real-time telemetry on crowd flow and security. Plus, Splunk dashboards aggregated data from network sensors, cameras, and applications to deliver comprehensive operational insights and help optimize future events.

Now, let's move to our epic team-up with the USGA at the U.S. Open.

U.S. Open Golf: Connectivity from the tee to the clubhouse

How's this for a challenge: powering secure network access for more than 225,000 attendees across four days, 900 screen displays, and 191 acres of ground at Oakmont Country Club.

The USGA deployed CW9179F Access Points-designed specifically for large-scale environments like the men's U.S. Open-to deliver faster network speeds, lower latency, and reliable, high-density connectivity. Campus Gateways were also deployed, a cloud-based wireless solution purpose-built for seamless roaming at scale, so fan devices stay connected as they traverse the course.

The results speak for themselves:

• 82 terabytes of data transferred over the USGA network (including 13 TB of fan data)
• 40,195 unique devices supported
• 4x faster upload and download speeds in high-density areas of the course

The ecosystem at the USGA also integrated Splunk observability to deliver real-time network visibility and insights, Cisco Spaces to understand crowd movement and hotspots, and Webex to make staff collaboration a breeze.

How Cisco Wi-Fi 7 enhances business connectivity

Cisco Wi-Fi 7 access points are designed to support growing businesses of all sizes. Our APs go beyond the standard with built-in Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB) and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technologies. These innovations deliver low-latency connectivity to support advanced applications and seamless mobility for users across diverse environments. And now, our Wi-Fi 7 access points are even simpler to purchase and deploy with unified licensing and a single support model.

Security is fused into the network with WPA3 and Cisco ISE, enabling dynamic segmentation and adaptive policy management. This empowers IT to protect every Wi-Fi 7 connection to devices, users, apps, and more.

To keep pace with AI advancements, we've infused AI-powered assurance across our entire Wi-Fi 7 portfolio:

• Automated Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Quickly identifies and expedites issue resolution to reduce troubleshooting time.
• Client Analytics: Provides real-time device identification and profiling to manage and troubleshoot unmanaged devices.
• AI-Enhanced Radio Resource Management (AI-RRM): Uses machine learning to optimize wireless configurations proactively to improve connection quality.
• Seamless integration with ThousandEyes: Enables predictive network optimization to ensure more efficient traffic flow.
• Unified AI-powered platform: Supports continuous performance optimization to drastically reduce manual errors and ensure every user experience is flawless.

Why now is the time to upgrade

As the digital landscape changes at the pace of AI innovation, your business needs to keep up. More devices, higher data consumption, AI applications, and more demanding customer expectations require it.

With Cisco Wi-Fi 7 solutions you'll be able to:

• Fuel employee innovation and collaboration with reliable, high-speed wireless
• Deliver bespoke experiences in any setting, from boutique retail locations to epic events
• Power new levels of operational efficiency and IT agility, all while reducing costs
• Lay a foundation for the future-proofed workplace, with a more secure, resilient network that scales at the speed of your growth

So, are you ready to see what Cisco Wi-Fi 7 solutions can do? Check out our latest offers now.

Get limited-time Wi-Fi 7 offers now