How your office, building, grounds, or campus is wired is crucial to your connectivity success. A Structured Cabling System is a set of cabling, wires, and connectivity products that integrate all voice, data, video, and other various management systems (such as security alarms and video, phone systems, security access, energy systems, and more).
Technology is Always Changing
Technology is constantly evolving and changing, sometimes faster than you could ever guess. These new tools can make businesses more productive, secure, and flexible. However, these tools need the right network to support them.
Structured cabling is an infrastructure that's made up of smaller, standardized subsystems. You can install structured cabling systems in a building or across a large campus. It's this kind of network cabling that can support all of the rapidly advancing technology coming to the workplace.
Every Business Needs the Right Cabling Infrastructure to Support It
Since the advent of personal computers, the introduction of laptops and VoIP calling systems, the demand for a business's cable network has only grown. In the past, point-to-point cabling was used, which meant every piece of hardware used its cable. The cabling ran from the beginning point to its endpoint. Point-to-point would lead to a jumbled mess of wiring and lines that could be accidentally unplugged or present a safety hazard for tripping. If you had new technology to add, you would be running new cables to handle it.
Structured cabling came into existence to accommodate the rising need for speed and more bandwidth. And today, it's the best solution for a business or campus network.
Structured cabling systems are a kind of interface cabling solution that organizes your infrastructure. The beauty of structured cabling is that it helps to future-proof your business by accommodating any new hardware you add while supporting the increasing amount of data businesses use daily. It makes things much easier to manage as your business grows!
Why Structured Cabling During the Wireless Age is More Important Than Ever.
Here are three reasons why the IT & telecommunication industry is driven towards structured cabling - even in a wireless world.
1 . Businesses have gone from "Time-to-GO-Digital" to "Time to GROW Digital."
The modern IT and telecommunications industry has taken that digital leap, with over 80% having gone digital. More people and companies are digital today - which means the channels, content, customers, and competitors are also all digital. So now that everyone has "GONE" digital, companies are gearing up to "GROW" digital.
In a world where people are increasingly working from home, the IT and telecommunications sectors are expanding their data centers. Fiber-optic and structured cabling networks are becoming more popular among businesses as they grow. That's because these networks provide a clean, organized infrastructure that eliminates the existing cable-clutter from older systems. They save time and money in installation costs and improve productivity for employees who aren't constantly interrupted by tangled wires all around them during work hours.
The structured cabling system offers a physical infrastructure to various components, such as connectivity hardware and patch panels. This new cabling helps companies deploy their digital transformation growth by providing the necessary tools for a compelling end-to-end solution that can maximize performance in data centers or company offices alike.
The implementation of new networking technologies can be a lot smoother when using structured cabling, and this is why most businesses are moving their IT infrastructures to adopt these solutions, especially in existing ones that have been set up without it beforehand.
2 . "IoT." It's Why Cabling will Continue to Evolve.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a revolutionary new way for humans and machines to communicate. The IoT describes physical objects embedded with sensors, processing ability, software that connects devices over the internet or another communications network by exchanging data. It's the Industrial Revolution 4.0, and it's growing worldwide.
With the rapid outburst of IoT adoption, the traditional point-to-point cabling system will soon become obsolete. The rising growth trend for more devices, faster speeds, and fewer wires will intensify the need for structured cabling in IoT systems.
3 . Lower Risk of Downtime and Higher Cost Efficiency
Any corporation utilizing IT and telecommunications has found it, at times, complex and burdensome to have massive difficulties managing a complex system. Wire and cable management is an inevitable part of IT infrastructure, but now it's attracting newer advancements in cabling solutions than ever before!
The primary reason for most mid-size and large corporations turning to structured cabling systems is cost-effectiveness. Cabling is an essential aspect of any business, but it can be very effective if prepared right. The more organized and straightforward your cabling structure becomes, the less staffing or maintenance you'll need, which will cut down on costs while mitigating downtime from fixing problems with this process as well!
Companies are now identifying structured cabling systems with layouts supporting emerging telecom technologies to mitigate risks and ensure smooth transitions in growth. This cable upgrade helps and prepares them for the "Time-to-Grow" digital age.
Every company will say that reduced downtime is one of the most significant advantages of implementing structured cabling. The old traditional variants ran the risk of human error or someone accidentally pulling the wrong cable, leading to massive network downtime.
The old traditional variants, like point-to-point, constantly ran the risk of the human error factor. What if a technician accidentally pulls the wrong cable, leading to a massive downtime in networks. Such downtimes do not only lead to loss of productivity and time but may also result in the loss of valuable data worth a fortune. Structured cabling saves any company from this nightmare.
Here's What you Need to Know.
The time has come to invest in a new cabling infrastructure for your business. Technology is constantly changing, and you need the right cables to keep up with it. It's not just about going digital - it's about "GROWING" digital. Consider this an investment in your company that will lower the risk of downtime and increase cost-efficiency while helping you grow into the future faster than ever before! The evolution of IoT and other new technologies like AI and AR/VR will require a better cabling system than what we have today. Creative-13 can help make sure everything stays running smoothly by providing IT services like data center management, network design, installation, maintenance, and more. Contact us today if you want to upgrade your office infrastructure so that you're ready for tomorrow!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ryan has been writing blogs, articles and inspirational pieces for the last 15 years. He's currently working on a book entitled "The Formula." Ryan is currently the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) at Creative-13 where every so often you'll see some of his informative, fun, or inspiring posts published. Sometimes it's good to take an hour out of your day (or week), and just read something that can improve who you are.