Karen D. Schwartz

If your company has traveling employees, bandwidth-hogging applications, a need for speed or just a desire to keep pace with technology, you're probably thinking about moving to an 802.11n-based wireless networking infrastructure, at least at the network's perimeter.

It's inevitable, experts say, and the numbers bear it out. ABI Research, an Oyster Bay, NY, market research firm, finds that while 802.11n has only a 2.3 percent penetration rate in North America today, that number will grow exponentially, reaching 19 percent by next year. In large part, that's because the technology is mature, costs have decreased, and it has the flexibility that wireless can't compete with, says Stan Schatt, vice president and research director for wireless connectivity at ABI Research.

Of all of the ongoing expenses needed to keep corporate IT running, network-related costs are perhaps the most unwieldy. New technologies, changing requirements and ongoing equipment maintenance and upgrades keep IT staff on their toes and money flowing out the door. But there are ways to manage network costs.

The Problem

According to Aberdeen Group, network costs continue to rise steadily. In 2008, for example, network spending is expected to increase slightly more than 5 percent over 2007. Telecom management industry association AOTMP of Indianapolis, Ind., backs that up, estimating that spending for voice and data services alone averages $2,000 to 3,000 per employee.

Time: The second Tuesday of every month, 10:00 a.m. PST. Like clockwork, Microsoft releases a group of security patches. And like clockwork, that release sets in motion a flurry of events from businesses, security vendors, the media and even hackers.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, as it is widely known, started in October of 2003 at the request of Microsoft's customers, who preferred to receive patches in an organized way, at a specified time, explains Christopher Budd, Microsoft's security response communications lead. The change was made to make testing and deploying updates easier and more predictable.