In the last IEEE meeting I attended I had the good fortune to participate in the celebration of the completion of the work done by the IEEE 802.11k task group. As one of the original co-authors of the specification I had the privilege of attending a very nice celebration dinner. This was very satisfying for me as I attended nearly every IEEE meeting for more than 3 years with one of my key focus areas to complete the job in 802.11k. I am very proud of my contribution to this group and give much thanks to Richard Paine, our group chairman, who remained at the helm for duration of the task group.

For those of you not familiar with this group, we were tasked with standardizing many 802.11 radio measurements that were largely already available in most 802.11 client adapters and in 802.11 network infrastructure. In addition to defining these measurements, we also needed a standard way to exchange the measurement information between the client adapters and the network infrastructure.

The first question that might come to mind is why? The value of radio measurements is unanimously agreed upon in the wireless community. By measuring the RF environment good decisions can be made about both how to manage the wireless network as well as how the wireless network functions. Measurements allow us engineers to develop products that make good decisions about very important RF characteristics such as channels selection, power settings, data rate selection, network selection, etc. By exposing and controlling this information between the network and the client the 802.11 WLAN network simply works better.
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I was very honored, and a little surprised, to receive one of InfoWorld’s Top CTO Awards for 2008.

This is a very recognizable distinction for our young company, and we are the only company in our Unified Communications and enterprise mobility space, in fact in networking in general, represented. Other award winners are CTOs from companies you have also heard of, such as UPS, Lehman Brothers, Virgin America, the District of Columbia, Sun Microsystems, MasterCard, AFLAC, ETrade and Credit Suisse. I am proud to be honored in such good company, and in fact we have been speaking with some of these organizations about the Agito enterprise FMC solution.

While my name headlines our press release and I have my photo with a funny smile published on InfoWorld’s site, this award is truly a testament to the all-star team we Agito executives have assembled, and the world-class eFMC product we are delivering. The recognition really goes to these 40+ men and women, whose commitment, enthusiasm and long hours are leading to some exciting results for Agito.

Without them, there’s no way we have a chance to be the eFMC solution provider of choice selected as a premier integration partner of Cisco for its Mobility Services Engine. In case you missed it, Agito is providing the seamless handover and mobile UC capabilities for the Mobile Intelligent Roaming function of Cisco’s new product launched in late May. Overall, without our team, we wouldn’t be generating the industry excitement on the customer, channel, partnership or recruiting fronts.

So, while it’s my name that’s in the headlines of InfoWorld, it’s my hat that’s off to the terrific team we have at Agito building our company.

Tim

As mentioned in the video, links to the:

Agito eFMC Whitepaper
Cisco Motion Press Release
Agito/Cisco Partnership Press Releases
Agito Product Demo

Pej

There was an exciting announcement this week from Cisco and Agito Networks about how the two companies are partnering to provide an integrated enterprise fixed mobile convergence (eFMC) solution for Cisco customers. This effort validates what our Agito customers have already learned. That is, only Agito’s user location (click here to learn more about our location technology and architecture) and integration with the wireless networks – whether it is the home, public, or enterprise network – provides the best possible mobile voice user experience. This is why Agito is the only enterprise mobility company invited to integrate with Cisco at this stage. It also goes without saying that it is also great to see a leader such as Cisco recognizing the importance of enterprise mobility for customers to improve their business operations, a validation of the eFMC space.

But don’t just take our word for it. Industry reception of this integration has also been extremely positive. To see some of the best coverage we’ve seen, check out Agito’s coverage page which we’ll be updating with this launch coverage periodically this week. While Cisco has the brand recognition, the huge installed base, and a leading WLAN system, most editor and analysts understand Agito’s innovation, and contribution in this partnership. Agito’s integration into the MSE will provide:

• Intelligent, seamless roaming between Cisco’s WLAN in-building networks and cellular networks. It’s Agito’s handover capability from WiFi to cell, and cell to WiFi (not just Cisco WiFi, but home WiFi for example) that is being leveraged for this solution.
• Robust context awareness of networks outside of Cisco’s WLAN (cellular, home, etc.). Cisco provides intelligence within the network, and it’s Agito’s client on the mobile device that provides intelligence when mobile users are outside Cisco’s network.
• Mobile UC functionality extended to mobile users. The MSE connects to the Agito client on the mobile device, but it’s Agito’s RoamAnywhere Mobility Router that connects the device to the enterprise PBX and provides all the mobile UC functionality.
• Mobility policies capabilities – Agito’s location-based policies are leveraged, especially polices applied when outside the network, where Agito has the visibility.

For Agito, Cisco adds network intelligence, information from Cisco’s Unified Wireless Network, to Agito’s RoamAnywhere as an optional metric to help determine the time and place for wireless network handover. Agito’s RoamAnywhere already uses the industry’s most robust set of metrics to determine WiFi/cellular routing – including user location, call cost, battery life, call quality, network reliability, user load and signal strength.

As enterprise mobility becomes a business critical need for enterprises, Agito’s RoamAnywhere products make up the only enterprise-ready mobility architecture with high-availability; a scalable, non-blocking architecture; and LDAP/ActiveDirectory (click here for more details) integration for ease of deployment that enterprises require. Agito brings a solution for enterprise mobility, and mobile UC to Cisco customers.

Christian

Read the Agito Press Release
Read the Cisco Press Release
See the News

I don’t usually write about vendor products, but with a slew a new phones either here today or in the near future, I can’t resist!

I am a huge Nokia fan (my daily phone is an Agito-enabled Nokia e61i - love it!), and so I am excited to see the official product shots of the the new e66 (replaces the e65) and the e71 (replaces the e61i). Very thin, US 3G, and of course, voice-grade WiFi!

Click the image for a link to a review

I was traveling in Europe a few weeks back and lost my phone. It wasn’t just any phone, it was my Agito powered Nokia e61i. I love that phone. I have mobile email, Qik, Google Maps 2.0, and of course the Agito client running on it. I was really sad to lose that phone, and not just because of the cost, or (significant) inconvenience, but for the fact that I felt irresponsible.

The worst part of the whole debacle was that I didn’t have any device management running on my device. So whomever found my phone would be getting my emails, Facebook updates, etc. I rallied, and used my laptop to VPN back to Agito and change all my passwords, and disabled my Agito client so calls could not be make on the phone. While I was slightly relieved, I was still concerned about the data saved on the phone. Who would look at it? What would they do with the data?

I swore at myself the remainder of the trip, because I should know better. As an executive for a enterprise mobility company, I know the statistics around disclosure of lost devices. I made a promise to myself that when I get stateside, device management would be a priority for us.

I am back and just read an article in Informationweek by our friend Richard Martin. In his article titled “Trouble Ahead: Most Companies Don’t Have A Mobile Device Management Plan” (catchy, if not dead on), he cited a few companies that have made the same mistake I have. That stats are chilling:

Not only have most organizations in InformationWeek’s recent survey of 307 business technology managers not adopted mobile device management strategies, most of them–52%–don’t even have plans to buy or implement tools that would help them corral proliferating wireless devices.

Take my advice, get in front of mobile device management sooner rather than later.

Pej

Read Richard’s article

In the USA Today dated May 15th, 2008, there was a snapshot of a statistic on the front page that caught my eye. It read:

“Nearly 90% of US adults are cellphone users, up from 77% at the end of 2006. Phones used at home: 89% Cellphone and 79% Land line.”
Source: Harris Interactive survey of 9,132 adults conducted online between October 2007 and January 2008

What I’ve observing as a trend in communications is now clearly validated by this survey. In my own personal kith and kin, my parents no longer have a land-line telephone and use their mobile phone as their primary mode of communication. While my wife and I have a land-line telephone at home, we find ourselves using the mobile phone the vast majority of the time. And based on this survey, we’re not alone.

There are a suite of reasons why we are seeing a greater dependency on the mobile phone for our lives. It really comes to increased accessibility: We are constantly on the move, and getting a call on my land-line telephone would largely lead to the caller being dropped into voicemail, and we all know how much we hate to hear that automated greeting ourselves when we call others. The mobile phone has become the device that each of us carry wherever we go, making us easier to reach, and hence making it the primary phone for many of us. While I can call-forward my land-line phone to my mobile, this technique essentially minimizes the value of that land-line telephone, underscoring the importance of the cellular phone.

There are times, however, when the mobile phone presents challenges. Coverage issues (I have a tough time at home), controlling costs, and dealing with multiple numbers - one for work, one for home, and for my mobile), are issues that I didn’t have to deal with before.

Cell phones make me more mobile, and being mobile lets me get more “things” done in the same span of time. Somehow, having more spare time continues to elude me…

Sandeep

Interop 2008 in Las Vegas is always an interesting event to attend and participate in. As an advocate for mobility, I always enjoy taking part in panel sessions, talking to customers and other technology companies, and engaging in lively discussion and debate.

I was on a panel for called “Convergence: Technologies and Strategies.” The panel consisted of a variety of companies in the mobility and convergence space, but it was the theme of the session that was so interesting - “Did you know eFMC was available now? Here is how to deploy it.” It was wonderful to see the 70 or so real enterprises folks (out of about 100 attendees) realize that this technology is real and here today from Agito Networks.

I also had the opportunity to record a podcast about eFMC and Mobility with Curt Franklin. We discussed a range of topics from wireless security to business drivers for mobility and eFMC, to how we see mobility, presence and unified communications evolving.

We announced some product news as well:

High Availability
Integration with Cisco’s Unified Wireless Solution
Native support for Active Directory and LDAP

Details on these enhancements can be found in our Interop press release.

We also announced the first phase of our eFMC Interoperability Program. The eFMC “Passport” included WLAN infrastructure vendors like Meru Networks, Trapeze Networks, and Aerohive, and PBX vendors including Avaya. This program highlights that eFMC is happening now and across a broad ecosystem of vendors.

It was a great show for Agito, and based on the number of customers we continue to deploy, 2008 looks to be the year for eFMC.

Pej

Listen to the PodCast
Read the Interop Press Release
Read the Passport Program Press Release

“I was struck by the relative silence from one group that, you’d think, would be playing a critical role in UC’s evolution–the carriers and service providers.”

“The question, however, is whether the carriers intend to become more active participants in the UC process. So far, there’s no evidence that they intend to do so.”

These statements came from a recent post by Eric Krapf, lead blogger for the new CMP site No Jitter.

He validated a couple of very key points for me:

• Carriers are focused on selling to consumers, not enterprises
• Enterprises need to look to in-house solutions for UC, and in particular mobility.

As highlighted in this article, enterprises have gone so long with IP Telephony that the carriers are falling far behind. IP Centrex, as referenced in the article, is really being positioned within enterprises as an SMB solution for limited deployment in the enterprise branch. This paradigm remains as the next evolution of mobile communications has arrived and users are increasingly mobile inside and outside the workplace. Enterprises are facing challenges dealing with user mobility, especially as users increasingly depend on their mobile phones for getting their jobs done.

To deal with some of these challenges, the requirements for UC, especially mobile UC are evolving and maturing. UC now allows the enterprise user to have a single, integrated identity for their IP phone line, their web and audio conferencing sessions, and their instant messaging and presence software. Without involving the carrier, this user identity is now centrally managed within the enterprise, tying in enterprise e-mail, enterprise voice mail, and UC systems to expose valuable features like Click2Call.

As far as enterprise-based UC solutions have evolved, enterprises did have some dependency on the carriers for a core part of their communications infrastructure, namely their enterprise mobile phones. But now these devices are available, and unlocked, from a variety of alternate distribution sources – as an example, I bought my phone, an unlocked dual mode phone from Nokia, from Dell. And it cost less than a similar model from a carrier that would require me to purchase a 2 year contract commitment.
I agree with Eric that the leaders within the UC space are still emerging and there is no one player that is ahead of the pack. But if you were a betting man, you’d move your money away from the carriers on this one. Momentum has shifted in the favor of enterprise-based UC systems, designed to easily mobilize mission critical enterprise applications like Business Voice.

But before innovative technologies introduced by upstart Agito Networks, enterprises were not fully able to realize the value of Mobile Unified Communications. Enterprises faced challenges with in-building coverage, disjointed mobility due to lack of integration of their mobile phone and the enterprise desk phone, lack of visibility and control with mobile usage, and mounting cellular costs. Agito Networks now brings patented technology to allow enterprises to maximize their value of their enterprise UC infrastructure. Here are the benefits Agito delivers with the RoamAnywhere Mobility Router:

1. Increased in-building wireless coverage by using enterprise WiFi for business voice when inside the building and cellular when outside the building, with fast, sub-100ms automatic handover as users move between WiFi and cellular. With Agito’s technology deployed in a large university on the East Coast, I was able to make and receive calls with superior call quality while down in the basement of their Engineering building with “zero” cellular coverage, on my Nokia E-90 dual-mode phone.
2. Complete integration of the enterprise desk phone with the user’s mobile phone, providing the user with one number (their enterprise number) for all communication. Agito has abstracted the mobile phone identity from the user, such that when calls come into the enterprise, the communications infrastructure, led by Agito’s Mobility Router, has the intelligence to route the calls over the best interface based on the user’s location.
3. Full control of their mobile phone infrastructure, which up till now was owned purely by the carrier. Enterprises now have the visibility of exactly how the mobile phone is being used anywhere using Agito’s robust policy and reporting suite, allowing them to modify cellular plans, and define better controls around usage.

In short, the gloves are off. Enterprises are taking control of their communications infrastructure and rolling out solutions that are highly integrated into existing enterprise services. Leading UC initiatives are being led out of enterprise equipment vendors such as (Agito partners) Cisco, Microsoft, Avaya, and carriers have taken a back seat. While it is true that the leadership around UC is up for grabs, all paths point towards the destination being an enterprise equipment vendor winning this race.

Sandeep

Pej Roshan, VP of Marketing & Co-Founder, and Tim Olson, CTO & Co-Founder of Agito Networks address some of the common questions around location, and in particular how Agito takes advantage of location inside the RoamAnywhere Mobility Router, Agito’s eFMC offering. Watch the video (transcript of the highlights below the jump)

As mentioned in the video, here are some useful links to learn more about how Agito uses location to make eFMC, WiFI, and VoWLAN enterprise-grade.

Agito RoamAnywhere Architecture
Agito eFMC Whitepaper
Request a demo!
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