Tag: asp

    Wi-Fi for MDUs requires a unique service management feature set

    ANTlabs is featured on Wi-Fi NOW regarding the Wi-Fi managed services platform, ASP / ASP Cloud, as well as a host of gateway features and services like Advanced QoS, Personal Area Network (PAN), and Web Filtering to enhance the user experience for MDUs (Multi-Dwelling Units).

    Introduction

    The demand for managed Wi-Fi services for MDUs is on the rise worldwide, but standard enterprise-grade Wi-Fi services are rarely the right solutions for residential premises. The answer is a dedicated Wi-Fi feature set that affords residents all the benefits of professional MDU Wi-Fi including security, dynamic quality of service (QoS) management, and personal area networks.

    MDUs are characterised by a lot of building tenants often living relatively close together. The need for dynamic quality of service management is important – as is delivering the right security. Add to this that tenants also want to be able to share content over the private Wi-Fi networks inside their unit only. Standard enterprise-grade Wi-Fi management – even in the Cloud – is simply not enough.  MSPs (Managed Service Providers) offering managed Wi-Fi service in an MDU environment will benefit greatly from ANTlabs solutions that improve productivity, and boost user satisfaction and operational efficiency.

    Read more about it below…

    Wi-Fi for MDUs requires a unique service management feature set, says ANTlabs

    ASP Update #11

    This update adds the following enhancements:

    • – Location portal enhancements:
      • > New option in PMS authentication method to hide View Messages and Retrieve Bill buttons in success page
      • > Facebook Like / Share on success page for all social networks
    • – New config backup duplicate feature to copy a config backup from one site to another site
      • > Note: As network configurations will be copied from one site to another, it is recommended that the config backup be taken at the state where WAN uses DHCP-acquired gateway so as to avoid losing WAN connectivity after restoring the config at the site the config is copied to.

    This update fixes the following issues:

    • – Location portal:
      • > Facebook Like / Share config controls are hidden in portal edit page although Facebook authentication has been enabled
      • > After successful PMS authentication:
        • – Retrieving bill returns ‘Transaction error: previous request is still being processed’
        • – Viewing messages returns “No messages found” although XL messages have been received from PMS
      • > Reports:
        • – Missing date in downloaded revenue report
        • – Authentication report download results in HTTP status code 500 when user login session has expired
        • – Usage report shows 0 New Users
      • > Accessing gateway GUI via ASP results in SSL certificate warning
      • > Session accounting log maintenance fix

    ASP VERSION: 1.0.11
    RELEASE DATE: 24 MAR 2022

    Automation: The Next Big Thing for Cloud and Digitization

    A for Automation

    According to Wikipedia, automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes. As the tongue-in-cheek section header implies, automation may very soon be the first thing on your priority to-do list.  Much has been said about the merits of moving to the “Cloud” or “Digitization”.  While shifting to the cloud or making business processes more digital will have some inherent productivity gains or even strategic advantages, we feel that automation is key to driving more impactful revenue and operational results.

    Automation is critical to providing a consistent and satisfying customer experience, benefiting from expert decision-making, or ensuring a high level of service quality.  These are attributes that are especially important for the service industry, including for Network Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Telcos, and the Hospitality industry.

    The power of “Automation” in the palm of your hand

    Benefits of Automation for the MSPs, Telcos and Hospitality Industry

    1.  As business activities pick up, MSPs that can scale up and down quickly and cost-effectively will be able to benefit from this trend. Venue owners and businesses who are facing uncertainty will prefer low start-up cost and pay-as-you-use subscription business models. MSPs who can provide flexibility to customers and tune their pricing models quickly will dominate the market. “Wi-Fi-as-a-service” (WiFi-aaS) is fast gaining popularity and increasingly preferred.

    2.  The demand for Enterprise managed Wi-Fi services should pick up as business owners and corporates want to outsource infrastructure investment or migrate from Capex to Opex spending model, while relying on MSPs to deliver reliable wireless connectivity for their operations. Centralized monitoring, with easy remote onboarding of customers while empowering them to self-help or administer basic functions are critical success factors.

    3.  It is important for MSPs to have deep understanding of their target customer segments and what is happening in their network, in order to spot business opportunities or respond quickly to operational issues respectively. In the past, many MSPs have built systems in silos to address different business opportunities which made data consolidation and analytics difficult or impossible. A good centralized system that incorporates data analytics with machine learning can help both Marketing, Business Development and Operations team to better address market segments and ensure service levels are met.

    ANTlabs ASP / ASP Cloud Managed Wi-Fi Solutions for MSPs

    There are many ways that automation can be applied to allow companies to reap the benefits mentioned earlier. Here are some examples that ANTlabs has helped evolve our customer’s business processes with our product features or our ability to help customize to their requirements.

    Backup and recovery automation for optimum system availability and resiliency

    With our ASP managed service platform or ASP Cloud service, configuration and recovery data can be backed up centrally. During system failures at a local site, high availability on our gateways automatically kicks in, preventing service downtime. Alerts are sent out automatically. In the event of a full local system failure, the MSP can quickly send in a replacement unit and restore the service fast with the backups that are stored in the cloud. With simple instructions, a non-IT staff can power up a gateway and allow both the gateway and ASP to automatically self-configure and restore optimized settings finetuned by IT group corporate. All these can be monitored remotely by an administrator(s) from our ASP platform.

    Dynamic login pages automation for best user experience and lower operation workload

    The IT Administrator of a MICE venue can predefine and configure new login portal pages to be shown at a specific location at a specific date and time so that they don’t have to remember to change or rush to make last-minute changes before a new event starts. Our Event Manager module helps save time, while potentially allowing non-IT staff to help in times of manpower crunch with the easy-to-use, and intuitive user interface.

    Automated surveys for more customer satisfaction insights

    A customer satisfaction survey can be sent automatically after a guest has checked out of a hotel or finished a meal at a restaurant. Instead of relying on staff to remember to do this mundane step and collate the results, such a simple form of automation can alert management if service standards have been exemplary or degraded.

    Improve Telcos and MSPs productivity and mitigate manpower resources crunch

    During government-mandated lockdowns, ANTlabs Tru’AUTH AAA and Tru’IP DHCP/DNS systems have aided Telcos and MSPs to respond rapidly to shifting consumption spikes of bandwidth in the network. AAA authentication, DHCP, and DNS service are important network services for a Telco. With automation, a much leaner network team could bring up new network coverage quickly and shift the required network resources to multiple sites without sacrificing quality. Coupled with the use of telemetry data, automated expert rules can help Operations teams during maintenance windows to ensure that pre-established operational procedures set up by experienced operators can be faithfully executed by less experienced staff. Real-time visibility on our systems, help provide human engineers or managers with speedy confirmation of service recovery and relevant reports for audit.

    The above examples illustrate the wide range that automation can enhance service quality in small steps for individual customers or create a huge impact on an operator’s network affecting millions.

    antlabs telemetry and network automation

    Conclusion

    Automation is the next step to realize the benefits of shifting to the cloud and digitization of business processes. For more than 20 years, ANTlabs has built robust networking solutions for Telcos, MSPs, large venues, and the hospitality industry. With our unique insight into the needs of small venue owners to large-scale network operators, we continually apply automation through product innovation and customize for our customers. The ability to customize to our customers’ environment is one of many unique advantages offered by ANTlabs.

    Automation is key to driving more impactful revenue and operational results. It will allow the MSPs, Telcos, and hospitality industry to provide a consistently high-quality customer experience, respond faster to a dynamic business environment and ensure a high level of operational efficiency.

     

     

     

    managed wifi service providers. automation

    How Managed Wi-Fi Service Providers can prosper in 2022

    A new year of challenges and opportunities

    As the new Lunar Year of the Tiger is upon us, we are hopeful that 2022 will be a year of opportunities for managed service providers (MSPs) providing Managed Wi-Fi services. For the past 2 years, there have been unpredictable drops in customer demand and business activity, as well as sudden surges after lull periods. Shortage of labour and supply chain disruptions have also created unforeseen issues which require innovative solutions and change in mindset and paradigms to ride through the challenges. Technology and innovation are often cited as catalysts to help businesses transform to overcome these disruptions and emerge more agile and competitive. So how can MSPs position themselves to win in 2022?

    Here are 5 ways that we believe MSPs can take advantage of the business opportunities:

    1. As business activities pick up, MSPs that can scale up and down quickly and cost-effectively will be able to benefit from this trend. Venue owners and businesses who are facing uncertainty will prefer low start-up cost and pay-as-you-use subscription business models. MSPs who can provide flexibility to customers and tune their pricing models quickly will dominate the market. “Wi-Fi-as-a-service” (WiFi-aaS) is fast gaining popularity and increasingly preferred.

    2. The demand for Enterprise managed Wi-Fi services should pick up as business owners and corporates want to outsource infrastructure investment or migrate from Capex to Opex spending model, while relying on MSPs to deliver reliable wireless connectivity for their operations. Centralized monitoring, with easy remote onboarding of customers while empowering them to self-help or administer basic functions are critical success factors.

    3. It is important for MSPs to have deep understanding of their target customer segments and what is happening in their network, in order to spot business opportunities or respond quickly to operational issues respectively. In the past, many MSPs have built systems in silos to address different business opportunities which made data consolidation and analytics difficult or impossible. A good centralized system that incorporates data analytics with machine learning can help both Marketing, Business Development and Operations team to better address market segments and ensure service levels are met.

    ANTlabs ASP / ASP Cloud Managed Wi-Fi Solutions for MSPs

    With more than 2 decades of experience working with Telcos, service providers and hospitality players, ANTlabs has developed a centralized managed service platform called ASP (ANTlabs Service Platform) that can help MSPs address the opportunities outlined here. For customers with small number of sites, ANTlabs also provides ASP Cloud – a pay-as-you-use subscription service based on the same ASP platform to help them get started and realize the benefits that would otherwise be inaccessible to them.

    Launch New Cloud Managed WiFi Services Easily with ANTlabs ASP / ASP Cloud

    4. While wireless connectivity is indispensable, it is also fast becoming a commodity. Yet delivering good quality high-speed internet access (HSIA) service can make or break the success of WiFi-aaS for MSPs. Consistently high quality of service (QoS) requires end to end effort: from the edge devices providing differentiated network QoS control for different user groups, to controlling what kinds of application traffic has priority so that overall user experience is enhanced.

    Beyond HSIA: User-aware, location aware services

    Besides HSIA as a service, MSPs should allow other network services to easily launched and subscribed by end customers. ANTlabs ASP platform has the unique ability to allow MSPs to launch user-aware, location-aware services that are customizable to fit different customer segments. Take for example, a web filtering service to protect network users from malware or undesirable content. MSPs can provide a different customer profile with a corresponding set of filtering criteria for corporate use, versus, hospitality customers.

    5. Finally, with the trend to move business processes online and the shift towards Cloud operations, MSPs should leverage on the same WiFi-aaS platform to capture customers in other business verticals. ANTlabs ASP platform has multi-tenancy features that allow different end user organizations to subscribe and manage their own network, and flexible features that allow the MSPs to address different verticals like corporate, hospitality, retail, finance and even education. With small increment cost, MSPs can leverage on the ANTlabs ASP platform to expand their existing business by providing Managed WiFi business to new business verticals.

    Conclusion

    ANTlabs has built the ASP platform to be a robust centralized managed service platform for MSPs to realize a scalable, and cost-effective Managed WiFi Service model with the added benefit of launching new services quickly, and allowing them to expand beyond their traditional hospitality or corporate customer base. As WiFi-as-as-service (WiFi-aaS) becomes the norm with more businesses going online in 2022 and beyond, MSPs who can capitalize on these trends will have first-mover advantage and build a sustainable and profitable business.

  • ASP Update #10

    Advisory to ASP admin: This update carries fixes for built-in portals with external success page.  These fixes will take effect on the gateway after the location portals have been synced to the gateway.  For sites that require the built-in portal external success page fixes, you should push the fixes to the gateway by triggering a […]

  • antlabs web content filtering

    How web filtering secures your network further

    Updated: 8 December 2021

    Web content filtering is mostly used to keep inappropriate content out of kids’ hands and restrict timewasters in corporate networks. However, its primary advantage is not limited to preventing access to undesirable content. Reduced malware infections and access to phishing websites are among the lesser-known but probably equally important reasons web filtering is gaining favor in Enterprise WiFi networks.

    As users become more IT savvy, they need the reassurance that they are connected to a secure network, especially when they are not in their own homes. Of course, establishments can explicitly say that users use their WiFi at their own risk in their Terms and Conditions. However, while that may potentially save them from legal troubles, it may not shield them from PR nightmares should malware infect the users’ devices while in their network.

    How ANTlabs Web Filtering Service Works

    ANTlabs Web Filtering Service can be used in organizations with various WiFi hotspots. For example, if you administer a school WiFi network, you may wish to keep pupils from mistakenly viewing harmful content such as gambling, pornography, or hate sites. Because these new sites constantly change and new ones appear every day, manually blocking them is not an option. Another situation when category filtering comes in handy is when your school or workplace disallows visiting time-wasting websites like YouTube is prohibited during specific hours. YouTube and related sites are classed as “Time Wasters > Entertainment” and are restricted when this category is selected. You also save time and effort by not having to type in the URLs of these websites manually.

    ANTlabs Web Filtering protects users by giving operators the controls to block by category. It is based on DNS filtering—a type of content filtering using the DNS layer to filter based on IP addresses. The main difference is that this service gives blanket protection to sites you choose within your organization.

    When users bring in multiple devices, the filtering works across these devices and filters websites into six major categories (Security, Adult-related, Bandwidth Hogs, Illegal Activity, Time Wasters, and General Sites) with more than 60 pre-defined subcategories and inspects encrypted sites. In addition, the URLs categorized in the security module’s database are constantly updated, so service providers who subscribe to this feature shall have peace of mind knowing they have protection from the latest threats.

    Secure your network further with ANTlabs Web Filtering Service

    Other ANTlabs Product Features that Enhance Security

    ANTlabs’ built-in Anti-SPAM Protection and Anti-DOS Protection are two other ANTlabs product features that combine well with Web Filtering Service to secure your network further. Another ANTlabs gateway function that helps you secure your guest networks is Lawful Intercept, which helps your organization comply with numerous IT cyber regulations.

    The ANTlabs Web Filtering Service was released in December 2021 with ASP Cloud. It benefits guest WiFi networks like hotels, schools, universities, enterprises, and other corporate networks that aren’t classified as guest WiFi.

  • How ANTlabs guest WiFi solutions help the world’s best airports achieve excellence and visitor satisfaction

    Did you know that ANTlabs guest WiFi solutions are used by at least 2 of the 3 best airports in the world? Every year, passengers of more than 100 nationalities are asked in independently funded surveys to rate their experiences in international airports. For the longest time, Singapore’s Changi Airport was considered the best of […]

  • ASP Update #9

    This update adds the following enhancements: New reports – Authentication Report and Summary Note: for S-series gateways to send up the authentication logs, Update 10 is required New APIs: Add/update authentication log Retrieve authentication logs for all sites or specified site/ site group Retrieve authentication summary for all sites or specified site/ site group Report […]

  • ASP Update #8

    This update adds the following enhancements: ASP admin GUI enhancements to make it easier to deploy the S-series gateways: Display the connection status of the on-site S-series gateway After the gateway has connected to ASP, proceed to allow admin to configure the site Note: new S-series gateway firmware with Update 7 is required, achieving faster […]

  • ASP Update #7

    This update adds the following enhancements: New S-series gateway configuration backup and restore feature: Trigger configuration backups on connected S-series gateways Storage of the backups in the cloud Trigger configuration restoration to the connected S-series gateways using one of stored backups. Note: S-series Update 7 is required New APIs: Get admins for all sites or […]