Westcon-Comstor Sub-Saharan Africa and vendor partner Zyxel, are enabling small and medium sized enterprises to take advantage of a full digital infrastructure at a fraction of the cost with a wide range of unmanaged, smart managed, and managed Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches that accommodate a host of IP and IoT Power Devices (PD).

Powering devices such as IP phones, IP cameras, IoT devices and even access points, the Zyxel PoE switches assist in decreasing the complexity of, and reducing the costs associated to deploying IP device laden networks. The PoE switches allow users to use less cable and reduce the need for multiple power points, by providing both data connection and electrical power to devices through a single cable.

“As much as SME businesses want to embrace a digital infrastructure they are often hindered by the sheer cost of the technology and physical infrastructure required to power these devices,” says Luke Bainbridge, Zyxel product manager at Westcon-Comstor Sub-Saharan Africa. “With Zyxel PoE switches you don’t have to run multiple power and data cables or set up additional power / plug points, it all happens over a single cable.

“They are also exceptionally easy to manage and deploy, offering a simple GUI based management system that enables users to monitor and manage the environment through a single interface.”

Its range of unmanaged, smart managed, and managed PoE switches (8-48 port) support IEEE 802.3af and 802.3at standards that enable it to provide up to 30 watts of power per port for advanced Powered Devices. As a result, a client can run power hungry IP surveillance cameras, wireless APs, IP video phones as well as IoT devices, all off of one cable. With only one investment being required.

With built-in intelligent power allocation features, power wastage is reduced as power is only supplied when needed. Furthermore with Smart PD prioritisation, the switches can monitor individual and total power consumption levels and set power supply policies that maximise service availability for prioritised events.

All switches come with a free management tool, the Zyxel One Network, ensuring simplified configuration, management, and troubleshooting of your environment. With Zyxel One Network, network maintenance can be done with one click and boasts a host of remote functions such as factory reset or power cycling. It is also open to third-party developers.

“The switches are technology and vendor agnostic, which means they seamlessly integrate into an existing environment and customers don’t have to rip or replace any of their current technologies. At Westcon-Comstor we are currently working with customers to package solutions such as IP PABX and IP Communications environments sourced from a host of vendors within our expansive portfolio, which is then built on and powered by a Zyxel PoE switched network,” ends Bainbridge.