Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 47 | Page 73

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Mobile Technology Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise enhances communication infrastructure for Bin Ham Group hotel ///////////////////////////// Guests at a Dubai hotel can make the most of their mobile devices thanks to the deployment of high performance access points from Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. A lcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE) has announced that the City Seasons Hotel Deira has consolidated its communications infrastructure with a deployment of ALE high performance access points to boost network availability and management. The City Seasons Hotel is part of the UAE-based Bin Ham Group, which operates a number of hotels in key locations in the UAE and Oman. Access to high quality Wi-Fi is among the top priorities for travellers when choosing their preferred hotel. It became imperative for the City Seasons Hotel Deira in Dubai to upgrade its non-enterprise Wi-Fi points that lacked the capability to provide secure login and network management. The hotel deployed 180 high performance 802.11ac Wave 2 in-room Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar AP1201H WLAN Access Points for enhanced customer experience, in addition to the Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar AP1221 WLAN Access Points for common areas like the lobby, restaurants and corridors. “As an existing ALE voice customer, we were familiar with the high quality of solutions, and after sales service. It was a natural decision to choose ALE to meet our network and Wi-Fi requirements as well,” said Ahmed Mohamed, Group CIO, Bin Ham Group. “After replacing our legacy Wi-Fi system, we now provide our guests with faster, safer Wi-Fi access. This has resulted in better ratings and reviews on popular travel review websites, which also encourages more customers to choose to stay with us.” The OmniAccess AP1201H and OmniAccess AP1221 are managed by the Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista 2500 Network Management System, the next generation management suite. It simplifies management for IT teams with an embedded controller- less architecture, providing user friendly workflows for unified access together with an integrated unified policy authentication manager (UPAM) that helps define authentication strategy and policy www.intelligentcio.com enforcement for employees, guest management and BYOD devices. The deployment was completed by ALE partner Siemcom. “We are excited that City Seasons Hotel Deira has consolidated their communications environment with complete voice, data and Wi-Fi solutions from ALE. The latest implementation has not only strengthened our relationship, but also delivered tangible return on investment, flexibility and scalability to enhance their overall communication system while improving their customer experience,” said Manish Punjabi, Channel Sales Manager – UAE & Oman, ALE. n INTELLIGENTCIO 73