Amari Raises the Bar for Hospitality Services with Wireless Technology from Cisco.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Amari Hotels and Resorts has upgraded its services with advanced wireless technology from Cisco Systems(R), providing highly secure high-speed Internet access throughout the hotel, including the guest rooms, meeting rooms and public areas.

Amari is able to benefit from the advanced features of the Cisco(R) Unified Wireless Network solution, which comprises unified wired and wireless technologies that cost-effectively address issues, such as wireless local-area network (WLAN) security, deployment, management and control. It combines the best elements of wireless and wired networking to deliver highly secure, scalable WLANs at a low cost of ownership.

According to Kurt Rufli, managing director of Amari Hotels and Resorts, the selection of Cisco as the technology provider was made after careful consideration of the hotel's requirements.

"We explored a range of offerings from several vendors before deciding to use Cisco's unified wireless networking solution. The main reasons behind this decision include Cisco's reputation, as well as the performance, flexibility and reliability of its solutions. As customer satisfaction is our priority, we opted for the best in class, and that was what Cisco provided," Rufli said. "Security is another major concern for us. And Cisco's networking solutions incorporate strong security functions. For example, users on the same wireless network should not able to see each other. Otherwise, hackers may be encouraged to try to access other machines for malicious purposes."

While Amari has invested heavily in wired and wireless networking infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet services to its guests, the return on investment (ROI) has been very good even though Amari generously does not charge a fee for guests accessing the wireless Internet in public areas.

"We have seen a very quick ROI, although we did not expect it so early. We have seen an especially high volume of business from corporate customers from overseas, who always stipulate hotel-wide Internet access as a requirement. This is a good example of how our IT investment has enabled us to tap a new business opportunity. We were not really concerned with direct ROI," Rufli added.

Vorkon Patra-Yanan, regional managing director of Indochina for Cisco Systems, said: "We are excited with this opportunity to collaborate with Amari Hotels and Resorts to help them tap on advanced technology to improve their competitiveness. Cisco has demonstrated throughout the world that our wireless solutions are the most trusted by corporations, especially those which require high levels of security."

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