I’ve been posting a lot lately on public safety wireless video surveillance (see Defining Mobile Video; The Many Interpretations of Wireless Mesh; or Is Wireless Video Surveillance ‘Easy’?), so it’s time to switch gears, and talk about some of the other things we are doing. Wireless LAN comes to mind, in the wake of our announcement of the OEM agreement with NETGEAR to supply the wireless LAN controller software for their recently announced Pro-Safe 16-AP Wireless Management System WMS5316.
NETGEAR Wireless Management System "powered by Firetide"
While Firetide is known for its wireless mesh products, especially in the public safety video surveillance, we are much more than that. In fact, we’ve had our own wireless LAN controller for about 18 months. We provide access points, both with a controller architecture (thin APs), and without a controller (fat APs). With the WLAN controller product, we address a growing convergence trend in the channel, where a single integrator, be it security or IT, now provides the entire spectrum of networking services to an enterprise – from IP video surveillance to Wi-Fi access for employees and guests.
This extended wireless portfolio – from high-performance mesh backhaul to feature-rich WLAN management – is an excellent solution for integrators looking to break into new markets.
Mesh networks are also growing in popularity for businesses that need to create temporary networks, deploy quickly, or extend connectivity to places where cable cannot reach. Firetide’s product portfolio – from mesh to access points to WLAN management – provides an attractive solution to enterprises.
From a channel perspective, Firetide WLAN Controller is aimed at our existing channel. Through the agreement with NETGEAR, we are able to leverage our technology for a much larger small-to-medium enterprise market.
Stay tuned for the next installment in the series: “Why a Mesh Company Designs a Point-to-Point Product.”
For coverage on the NETGEAR OEM agreement, see articles in Urgent Communications, FierceWireless and CRN ChannelWeb.
