The network is the most important infrastructure you do not see
Everything runs through the network: business software, telephony, cloud, backup. When the network slows down or stops, the business stops. Xion IT Group delivers cutting-edge solutions for the design and management of business IT networks: we design and implement even complex networks at controlled costs, with work built to stand the test of time.
The technologies we use
Depending on your requirements and premises, we propose the most suitable interconnection solutions:
- CAT.5E cables - for existing networks and cost-effective extensions;
- CAT.6 cables - the current standard for offices and new installations;
- Fibre optic - for high-performance backbones and links between sites.
Cabling installation, termination and testing are carried out by certified network engineers, who use professional instruments to measure signal loss levels and certify the quality of the installation.
Ongoing monitoring and management
A well-built network also needs watching over. Our monitoring software provides:
- detailed reports on device availability;
- immediate alerts in the event of anomalies;
- prompt action coordinated by our operations centre.
All of this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year: your network never sleeps, and neither do the people monitoring it.
Business Wi-Fi is not home Wi-Fi
This is the difference behind more support calls than anything else, and it stems from an understandable misunderstanding: at home, one good router covers everything, so in the office two more powerful devices should be enough. It does not work like that, for three reasons.
Density matters more than power. Thirty devices in a meeting room do not need more signal: they need more points sharing the load. Increasing the power of one access point in that situation makes things worse, because it increases interference without increasing capacity.
Handover between one point and the next has to be managed. Someone walking from the office to the warehouse with a laptop or handheld terminal needs to move from one access point to the next without losing connection. With domestic-grade equipment, that handover is unmanaged: the device clings to the first point until the signal dies, and in the meantime the VoIP call drops.
Guests must not be able to see the business network. A visitor network is normal and useful; what is not normal is reaching servers from the same Wi-Fi. It needs to be separated, and that separation is designed from the outset.
The right method is an on-site survey: real coverage is measured, materials are assessed (metal warehouse shelving reflects, plasterboard does not, reinforced concrete absorbs), and the right placement for access points is defined. Adding an access point where the signal drops is a patch that simply moves the problem a few metres away.
Separating the network: the intervention with the best return
In most companies we visit, everything sits on the same network: workstations, servers, printers, cameras, machinery, guest Wi-Fi. It works, and that is also why nobody touches it — until something happens.
Segmentation divides the network into sections that communicate only through written rules. The most obvious advantage is security: an issue entering through one workstation stays within that segment. But there is a second benefit, less well known and just as useful: it makes it possible to keep devices on the network that cannot be updated — machinery running an unsupported operating system, an old camera, or a terminal that the supplier does not certify on newer versions. Once isolated, they can keep working without being an open door.
It can be done on a live environment and does not require replacing the devices.
Connecting multiple sites
When a business has two or more locations — offices and warehouse, headquarters and plant, one more shop — the weak point is almost never inside the sites: it is the connection between them, which in most cases was set up quickly and never redesigned.
The question we start with is not technical but operational: which department stops if that link goes down for two hours? That answer drives all the others — whether a second backup line is needed, whether data should stay centralised or be replicated, what kind of connection makes sense and how much it is worth spending on it. Without that answer, every proposal is a matter of preference.
The network audit: what we check
Before proposing any work on an existing network, we carry out a structured audit:
- Physical and logical mapping — what is there, where it runs, how it is connected: often the first result is the first real map the company has ever had;
- Performance measurement — actual bandwidth, latency, bottlenecks and congestion points at peak times;
- Cabling certification — with professional testing instruments, category by category;
- Security analysis — segmentation, wireless access, outdated devices, exposed ports;
- Single points of failure — what happens if that device stops? The answer must be known in advance, not during the outage.
The outcome is a report with clear priorities: what is urgent, what is recommended, what can wait — each with costs and benefits.
A practical example
A company with 40 workstations had been complaining about “slow internet” for months and was about to double its connectivity spend. The audit revealed an outdated switch choking the backbone and a consumer access point retransmitting half the traffic: once the two devices were replaced and the network segmented, the existing connectivity became more than sufficient again. The issue is almost never “we need more bandwidth” — it is understanding where the bandwidth is being lost.
What to ask for in a network quotation
Network quotations are among the hardest to compare, because the same figure can cover very different things. Four questions make them comparable.
Is the cabling certified or just installed? These are two different jobs. Installing means running the cable and fitting the outlet; certifying means measuring every point with an instrument and providing the report. Without certification, the day a workstation becomes intermittent, nobody can say whether the problem is the cable or the device, and everything proceeds by trial and error.
How many extra points are included? Adding an outlet during installation costs a fraction of what it costs to add it later, once the walls are closed. A project that covers exactly today’s workstations is a project that will have you calling again in two years.
Who configures the devices, and who keeps the configuration? A switch delivered with factory settings is not a network. And the configuration, including passwords, must be documented and belong to you.
What happens when something fails? A network device going down stops everyone. It needs to be clear in advance who intervenes, how quickly, and whether there is spare stock — not afterwards.
The mistakes that cost the most
Buying bandwidth instead of understanding where it is being lost. It is the most common reaction to slowness and it is almost always wrong: in most cases the bottleneck is internal, not on the line.
Using domestic-grade devices in a business. They cost less and they work, until the number of devices grows. Beyond a certain threshold they become the problem, and that threshold arrives sooner than it seems.
Using Wi-Fi where a cable was needed. Wireless is convenient, but it is never the same as a socket: wherever there is a fixed workstation, cabling costs less and causes far fewer headaches.
Not updating network devices. Switches, firewalls and access points receive security updates just like computers do. A network device left unpatched for years is exposed, and nobody notices because it still seems to work perfectly.
Leaving the network without a map. When nobody knows which cable goes where, every fault starts with half an hour of exploration. It is the most underestimated hidden cost of all.
Network, security and continuity are the same thing
A well-designed network is also the foundation the other protections rely on. Cybersecurity needs segmentation to limit damage; off-site backup needs sufficient bandwidth and correct prioritisation to complete within the overnight window; cloud telephony needs voice traffic to take priority over everything else; desktop management needs to be able to reach every endpoint.
That is why we do not treat the network as a standalone job: the people who design it are the same team that then maintain it within a support contract, because a network nobody monitors falls back into disorder within a couple of years.
When to rethink the network
- Office relocation or refurbishment — the perfect time to cable properly;
- Staff growth or new departments;
- VoIP telephony on the way — the network must guarantee priority for voice;
- IP video surveillance, building automation, connected production;
- Recurring episodes of slowness or disconnections that nobody can explain.
In all these cases, the site survey and project quotation are free.