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Landmark Group’s Citymax Hotels leverages Aruba Networks’ Wireless Infrastructure to Provide Seamless Wi-Fi Connectivity to Guests
[December 15, 2014]

Landmark Group’s Citymax Hotels leverages Aruba Networks’ Wireless Infrastructure to Provide Seamless Wi-Fi Connectivity to Guests


Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 15th December, 2014 – Citymax Hotels, the hospitality division of the UAE's Landmark Group, has leveraged Aruba Networks' wireless infrastructure to establish ubiquitous Wi-Fi networks in its Al Barsha and Bur Dubai properties. Thanks to the deployment, hotel guests can now avail of high-speed wireless internet access via a multitude of personal computing devices through the entire premises of the two hotels including elevators and basement parking lots.



Explaining the brand's decision to overhaul its wireless infrastructure, Amit Kanchan, Head of IT for Landmark Hospitality said, “Today, we summarize our customers' primary requirements with three Bs- Bed, Breakfast and Bandwidth. When guests enter our hotel, they don't want a welcome drink, they want to connect immediately. We have therefore had to adapt our business and focus on our Wi-Fi offering.” The primary objective was to provide ubiquitous access across each property and enable guests to transition seamlessly between Access Points (APs) without any noticeable change in performance- thus allowing them to roam throughout the hotel without losing internet connectivity.

The team decided on a barbell strategy, to address the pressing short term challenges while also accommodating for future requirements and found Aruba's wireless infrastructure solution fit perfectly with its strategic objectives. Supported by Aruba's implementation partner, CADD Emirates, Citymax Hotels settled on an 802.11n solution from Aruba Network which could provide 600Mbps throughput and coverage to a large number of guest devices.


Aruba 103 Series Access Points were selected as the primary APs for the deployment due to their multifunctional capabilities, affordability and ability to work in medium-density Wi-Fi environments while minimizing interference from cellular networks. An Aruba Networks 7200 Series Mobility Controller was also deployed to manage authentication, encryption, VPN connections, IPv4 and IPv6 services and deliver other advanced security features.

With its new wireless infrastructure set firmly in place, Citymax hotels has begun to witness a steady return on investment. The hotel offers a basic 512Kbps service free of charge, with bandwidth capping facilitated by the Aruba Network Mobility Controller. In addition, the hotel has been able to monetize the network by extending a premium wireless connectivity option with faster speeds and greater bandwidth as a charged service. These offerings have translated to a high level of customer satisfaction as the brand is capable of delivering secure high-performance wireless connectivity across all areas of the sprawling properties.

Guests connect via a single SSID thereby eliminating the need to repeatedly search for and log into the Wi-Fi network as they move around the hotel. The system has also been designed to provide the same high-level of service throughout the premises. A major benefit of Aruba's deployment was the efficient utilization of existing infrastructure such as the network cabling. This dramatically cut project expenses.

“Today we can proudly say that Citymax hotels is a very contemporary technology enabled hotel which is ready to welcome the guests of today and the future,” commented Mr. Russel Sharpe, COO of Citymax Hotels. The brand has ambitious plans for the evolution of its Wi-Fi infrastructure. “We intend to move on to the next stage wherein we will be able to use our admin technologies, staff technologies and guest facing technologies on this Wi-Fi infrastructure. We also intend to use VoIP for our internal communications and see Aruba's solution as being a long term investment.” About Aruba Networks, Inc.

Aruba Networks is a leading provider of next-generation network access solutions for the mobile enterprise. The company designs and delivers Mobility-Defined Networks that empower IT departments and #GenMobile, a new generation of tech-savvy users who rely on their mobile devices for every aspect of work and personal communication. To create a mobility experience that #GenMobile and IT can rely upon, Aruba Mobility-Defined Networks™ automate infrastructure-wide performance optimization and trigger security actions that used to require manual IT intervention. The results are dramatically improved productivity and lower operational costs.

Listed on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000® Index, Aruba is based in Sunnyvale, California, and has operations throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. To learn more, visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com. For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter and Facebook, and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products visit Airheads Social at http://community.arubanetworks.com.

© 2014 Aruba Networks, Inc. Aruba Networks’ trademarks include Aruba Networks®, Aruba The Mobile Edge Company® (stylized), Aruba Mobility-Defined Networks™, Aruba Mobility Management System®, People Move Networks Must Follow®, Mobile Edge Architecture®, RFProtect®, Green Island®, ETips®, ClientMatchTM, Virtual Intranet AccessTM, ClearPass Access Management SystemsTM, Aruba InstantTM, ArubaOSTM, xSecTM, ServiceEdgeTM, Aruba ClearPass Access Management SystemTM, AirmeshTM, AirWaveTM, Aruba CentralTM, and “ARUBA@WORKTM. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Details: Manish Bhardwaj Marketing Manager Aruba Networks, Inc.

+971 50 495 6143 [email protected] OR Colin Saldanha Procre8 for Aruba Networks +971 50 6400 762 [email protected]

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