THOUSAND OAKS, CA--(Marketwire - Feb 12, 2013) - Xirrus®, the leader in high-performance wireless networks, today announced that the Sands Expo and Convention Center has deployed Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays to serve Sands event planners, exhibitors and attendees. The deployment covers more than 2.2 million square feet, including the main Sands Expo floor, as well as adjacent meeting rooms and common areas at the Palazzo and Venetian properties in Las Vegas. Sands officials cite the ability to support the highest number of devices and highest volume of rich media applications in their decision to standardize on Xirrus Arrays to replace their existing wireless architecture.
Significant savings in infrastructure costs and cabling also played a key role in The Sands' decision to adopt Xirrus. Noting that a number of Sands properties had intentions to expand their already robust network services, officials faced the challenge of achieving the desired coverage and performance without extensive reengineering. But the adoption of Xirrus Arrays overcame the challenge. "What Xirrus can do with one array, a competitor requires 10, 20, or even 30 access points to do," said Justin Herrman, IT director for The Sands. "By eliminating the need for reengineering, Xirrus removed additional cable plant costs and slashed our service-delivery labor costs."
Systems such as Xirrus solve capacity and coverage issues of traditional Wi-Fi via a distributed architecture that is application-aware, provides multiple radios per access point, and incorporates multiple directional antennas per cable drop.
Herrman says he has also overcome the latency issues inherent in wireless networks as new users come on to the network. "What really set Xirrus apart is its ability to function as an application-aware wireless switch. As new users connect, there is no degradation of experience for the already-connected users. As more users come on to the Arrays, their application experience remains consistent. Each Xirrus Array -- and I've seen this personally -- can support 200, 500, 800 or even more than 1,000 users, depending on the model. Xirrus can scale and provide seamless roaming so that our guests always have a perfect wireless experience -- no matter the traffic load."
"The mass consumer adoption of wireless devices has put such pressure on large public venues such as The Sands that they are upgrading their wireless infrastructure to satisfy the demand," said Shane Buckley, CEO for Xirrus. He added, "What is really innovative about The Sands is that they are deploying a suite of wireless-only applications that enable them to not only offer a range of very competitive services for guests and exhibitors but to also drive an ROI measured in months, based on the monetization services and operational efficiencies enabled by the wireless infrastructure."
Scalability is Key
Herrman says that wireless connectivity and new, wireless-only applications will be key drivers of The Sands' ability to attract convention groups. "Our client is the large event producer, and their clients are their attendees and exhibitors. They need to stay cutting-edge and competitive. To do that, they need to enable sophisticated wireless applications, deliver an always-on wireless experience, provide mobile location services -- and, essentially, deliver any service with real-time responsiveness."
The key, he says, is scalability. "As any exhibit pod brings on a heavy user load -- let's say 1,100 users per Array -- we can simply move new users to a second Array close by. With this flexibility, all users receive virtually the same service and enjoy the same experience. Xirrus provides that level of scalability -- in very dynamic environments with tens of thousands of users craving Wi-Fi. This scalability is critical to our continued high customer satisfaction and aggressive growth plans."
"Wired-Like" Wireless Service Differentiates Top Convention Facilities
Herrman says that event organizers, increasingly, will refuse to engage with venues that cannot solve their wireless challenges, deliver a seamless user experience, and serve as a platform for advanced wireless applications. "While the size of the exhibit space and the number of rooms available at a venue are still of prime importance to corporate clients, arguably the main negotiating point for clients is now wireless technology, whether those clients are technologically advanced or simply recognize the many values of strong Wi-Fi for its ability to help them market and sell to event attendees."
He added that the future of The Sands lies, in part, in providing a wireless network that delivers wired-like performance. "The architecture of such a network, typified by Xirrus, provides greater bandwidth and coverage and supports more wireless devices than conventional Wi-Fi systems. It also eliminates dead zones and interference. Such a system can also authenticate users anywhere, allowing them to roam seamlessly."
High-Performance Wi-Fi Supports Advanced Services
A highly scalable wireless network also serves as a platform that can allow venues and event organizers to offer advanced services. Such services are part of The Sands' roadmap for growth, differentiation, and sustained competitiveness.
- Dynamic Wayfinding: A GPS-like application provides guests with location information and directions to locations across the property. Wayfinding allows event attendees, for example, to find vendors on the exhibit floor or quickly locate and receive directions to a conference room.
- Dynamic Marketing: Wi-Fi networks enable dynamic location-based marketing, allowing organizers and exhibitors to identify and track users by their unique devices, such as for using instant messaging to make offers to nearby attendees.
- Digital Documents: By providing location information and enabling digital documentation, exhibitors can allow attendees who walk by their booth to download marketing materials from either the event organizer's or venue's wireless portal page.
About Xirrus, Inc.
Xirrus is the leading provider of high-performance wireless networks. Xirrus' Array-based solutions perform under the most demanding circumstances with wired-like reliability and superior security. The Xirrus wireless solutions provide a vital strategic business and IT infrastructure advantage to the education, healthcare, government and enterprise industries that depend on wireless to operate business-critical applications. Headquartered in Thousand Oaks, CA, Xirrus is a privately held company that designs and manufactures its products and solutions in the USA. For more information please visit: http://www.xirrus.com/ and follow us on Twitter: @Xirrus.
Xirrus is a trademark or registered trademarks of Xirrus. Other trade names used in this document are or may be the property of their respective owners.
