2020's Most Trusted Networking Solution Providers September 2020
- 1. 2020's MOST TRUSTED NETWORKING SOLUTION PROVIDERS INSIGHTSSUCCESS.COM VOL-09 ISSUE-05 2020
- 4. O ver the years the number of Wi-Fi routers has grown significantly, and by 2025, almost 100 billion internet connections will be created around the world. In addition, upcoming extremely demanding devices, including 8K videos or VR/AR games, will play a vital role in our lives gathering every bit of data at the same time. What’s left of previous generation—The 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands—has now become a lower entry barrier waiting for devices to contribute to network congestion. As a way of achieving less dense use, more devices, and increased data traffic, the highly efficient Wi-Fi 6 with a large, transparent band was introduced. Wi-Fi 6 was first launched with new features last year to offer next-generation access to next-generation routers. In brief, this is a simpler and more powerful Wi-Fi variant that helps wireless access points such as routers to help handle networks full of users and consumer devices. And now with the launch of Wi-Fi 6E, the network arena is getting even wider. The market term for consumers to recognize Wi-Fi systems running under 6 GHz is Wi-Fi 6E or 802.11ax. Wi-Fi 6E provides the functionality and capabilities to expand Wi-Fi 6 into the 6 GHz network, including improved capacity, lower latency, and higher data speeds. The production is already ongoing, and it is anticipated that Wi-Fi 6E devices be available rapidly after 6 GHz regulatory Wi-Fi 6E to Simplify Network Congestion 2020's MOST TRUSTED NETWORKING SOLUTION PROVIDERS INSIGHTSSUCCESS.COM VOL-09 ISSUE-05 2020
- 5. approvals. This increased ability for broadband allows more innovation in Wi-Fi which makes important benefits to customers, industries with ecosystems. Because of its identical characteristics and its closeness to the 5 GHz band where Wi-Fi already exists, 6 GHz offers increased spectrum power, contiguous spectrum blocks to 14 more 80 MHz channels, or 7 more 160 MHz broad channels and less congested bandwidth from standard Wi-Fi 4 or Wi-Fi 5 networks. Wi-Fi 6E uses the 6 GHz features to support quick data processing apps with high bandwidth, including high-quality video playback, augmented reality, and lower latency networking for online gaming apps. It would influence both businesses and customers with these fast speeds and low latency. Wi-Fi 6 is the secret to this better network, so it won’t be feasible to bind earlier generations of Wi-Fi users to the 6GHz channel. This implies that Wi-Fi 6E will not be equipped with older generation devices which serve as poor links in the chain. Developments such as Wi-Fi 6E in the networking industry compelled us to seek out for the best networking solution providers. Hence, Insights Success has come up with this exciting edition, “2020’s Most Trusted Networking Solution Providers,” that are standing at the forefront of networking technology and are contributing to connecting the world to every corner. Our shortlisted companies include CloudGenix, a Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) solution that provides agile, intelligent, secure, and performant connectivity for all apps over any WAN transport; GeoLinks, a leading telecommunications company and competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) public utility, nationally recognized for its innovative Internet and Hosted Voice solutions; Lavelle Networks, a client-centric networking solution provider delivering the best enterprise network experience; Redpine Signals, Inc., a wireless semiconductor and system solutions company focusing on innovative, ultra-low power and high-performance products for next-generation wireless applications; and Turn-key Technologies, a leader in networking, communications and security since our inception. While learning about these industry leaders, keep your keen eyes on inputs from prominent industry leaders tagged under ‘CxO Standpoint’. Also, do not miss information filled, industry-centric articles masterly crafted by our in-house editors. With all that said, it’s time to flip pages and delve into the world of networking. Have a Connected Read!
- 6. contents Articles Networking and Business A Connected World Robust Networks Accelerator for Digital Ransformation 14 28
- 7. CloudGenix Delivering World-Class Networking Solutions GeoLinks Connecting Clients with Innovative Telecom Solutions Lavelle Networks A Leading Name in the Enterprise Network Solutions Market Turn-key Technologies A Networking Key to Thrive in IT Redpine Signals Driving Wireless Convergence 10 12 18 20 24
- 8. sales@insightssuccess.com SEPTEMBER, 2020 Circulation Manager Tanaji Research Analyst Eric Smith Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Anish Miller Senior Editor Kelly, Jenny, Joseph, Bhagyashri Business Development Executives Managing Editor Sherin Rodricks Business Development Manager Abhishaj Sajeev Art & Design Head Amol Kamble Art & Design Assistant Asha Bange Visualiser David King Paul Belin Co-designer Art & Picture Editor Mayur koli Marketing Manager Mary D’souza Technical Consultants Pratiksha, Aditya, David Technical Head Jacob Smile Assistant Technical Head SME-SMO Executives Gemson, Manoj, Renuka Digital Marketing Manager Alina Sege Assistant Digital Marketing Manager Prashant Chevale Copyright © 2020 Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd., All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success. Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success. Follow us on : www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/ www.twitter.com/insightssuccess Corporate Ofce Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com We are also available on : RNI No.: MAHENG/2018/75953 Sales Executives Michael, Karen Amar Sawant Publishing Control Team Sneha Sinha Quality Assurance Team Darshan Parmar
- 11. G l o b a l S u b s c r i p t i o n $130.00 6 Months (06 Issues) 3 Months $70.00 (03 Issues) 1 Month $25.00 (01 Issue) $250.00 1 Year (12 Issues) C h o o s e E x c e l l e n t , C h o o s e I n s i g h t s “ Stay in touch. Subscribe to Insightssuccess Get Insightssuccess Magazine in print, & digital on www.insightssuccess.com 2020's MOST TRUSTED NETWORKING SOLUTION PROVIDERS INSIGHTSSUCCESS.COM VOL-09 ISSUE-05 2020
- 12. C loudGenix is a Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) solution provider which transforms the WAN from an expensive and complex hindrance to an enabler of business innovation. The company’s AppFabric platform provides secure, high performing and reliable connectivity between users in remote sites and applications regardless of where they are deployed, be it in the data center, cloud or as software-as-aservice (SaaS). Unlike legacy WAN gear, which uses packets as the fundamental unit of operation, AppFabric understands the behavior, performance, and health of applications, and uses that information as a means of enabling the information and technology to craft policies that are relevant to the business. The organization’s vision is one where the network is automated, continually learning usage patterns, and aligning resources with the expectations of the business. A Learned Leader Kumar Ramachandran is the Founder and CEO of CloudGenix. Kumar helped create the future of the WAN while at Cisco, contributing to creation of several successful product lines including branch routing and application delivery. Additionally, he’s been on the other side of the product, having worked for large financial institutions managing applications and infrastructure, giving him keen insight into what customers need and how products must be built to address those needs. On a personal level, Kumar is known for his amiable demeanor, kind heartedness, and ability to craft an engaging and exciting story. Surpassing Challenges CloudGenix was founded in 2013 by a team of experienced networking professionals that had produced award-winning products deployed by the largest companies worldwide. Since then, the company has received massive interest from customers and has successfully deployed the world’s largest SD-WAN implementations. Its largest struggles have been based largely on our ability to meet the voracious demand of our customers for our technology. According to Kumar, the challenges in the WAN industry are driven by vendor confusion. He exclaims, “Large vendors have come to market with solutions that, on the surface, seem to be an evolution but in reality, do not advance customer agility or freedom. IT as a category is moving from a cost center where engineers manage components and individual pieces into a model where it is becoming a business enabler driven by company strategy.” To cater to this need, the operation of products and services leveraged by CloudGenix are in alignment with business goals, and its infrastructure is programmable to enable integration and simplification of business process. The Blueprints of Excellence CloudGenix is fundamentally different and is aware of the running applications, using advanced detection techniques including session fingerprinting. It understands how application transactions and sessions are performing and more importantly, it understands how those applications perform across each of the various WAN links. This allows AppFabric to align WAN resources with the desired user experience, rather than a perception and conclusion based on network-only metrics such as bandwidth and packet loss. Further, CloudGenix exposes this application-centric and CloudGenix Delivering World-Class Networking Solutions 10 | Insights Success | September 2020 2020's Most Trusted Networking Solution Providers
- 13. network-centric information as consumable and actionable insights, giving businesses unparalleled visibility into the health and performance of their applications and WAN links. By delivering through channel partners the company enables new levels of freedom from service providers rather than creating more lock-in. Best amongst all, the platform is completely programmable, enabling levels of integration and automation that were previously not possible. The Steps Towards Innovation CloudGenix has witnessed a fundamental shift in how distributed businesses operate. Over the past twenty years businesses have connected remote offices using expensive, low- bandwidth lines from service providers, and then had to deploy additional stacks of hardware at these remote offices to better manage their WAN and improve application performance. “The cloud has completely transformed the way businesses deploy and integrate applications, and legacy networking doesn’t allow for a top-down model to dictate business objectives for applications and sites,” states Kumar. This in turn led CloudGenix to take a clean-slate approach to building a WAN, which has allowed the company to help countless Fortune 500 customers with tens, hundreds, and thousands of branch offices, radically shift their WAN from a hindrance and cost center to an enabler of agility and value. A Progress-Centric Tomorrow CloudGenix is witnessing two dramatic changes in how enterprise networking products are built. The IT demands a top-down model to define the behavior of a product or solution as opposed to needing deep technical understanding of its inner workings. This is commonly-called “intent-based networking,” where the intent of the business dictates the behavior of a product or system. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are becoming pervasive within enterprise products. CloudGenix has successfully combined the two evident changes innovatively. Within the company, system behavior is defined by policies that are relevant to business objectives for performance, security, and compliance whereas, machine learning and artificial intelligence are used to understand and predict application behavior under various network conditions, which influence how it responds and enforces policy. The company displays continued investment in both the areas. Our mission is to provide the world with the ability to build and manage their WAN the way it should have been done in the firts place. Kumar Ramachandran Founder & CEO ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘‘ ‘ September 2020 | Insights Success | 11
- 14. Headquartered in Southern California, GeoLinks is a leading telecommunications company, competitive local exchange carrier, and regulated public utility, nationally recognized for its innovative Internet and Digital Voice solutions. The company delivers Enterprise-Grade Internet, Digital Voice, SD-WAN, Cloud On-ramping, Layer 2 Transport, and both Public and Private Turnkey Network Construction expertly tailored for businesses and Anchor Institutions nationwide. GeoLinks’ accelerated success is largely due to its flagship product, ClearFiber™, which offers dedicated business-class Internet with unlimited bandwidth, true network redundancy, and guaranteed speeds reaching up to 10 Gbps. Named “Most Disruptive Technology” in the 2018 Central Coast Innovation Awards, GeoLinks’ ClearFiber™ network is backed by a carrier-grade Service Level Agreement boasting 99.999% uptime and 24/7 in-house customer support. With an average installation period of 4 to 7 days, GeoLinks is proud to offer the most resilient and scalable fixed wireless network on the market. Recognized as a thought-leader in closing the digital divide, GeoLinks proudly sits on an array of national boards, coalitions, and working groups including the Schools, Healthcare & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA), the Broadband Consortium of the Pacific Coast (BCPC), and the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee’s (BDAC) Streamlining Federal Siting Working Group. The Passionate Leader Born in Ojai, California, Skyler Ditchfield is the Cofounder and CEO of GeoLinks, which is the No. 1 Fastest Growing Fixed Wireless ISP in the country, and Inc. Magazine’s Fastest Growing WISP in America. Nationally recognized for its innovative Internet and Hosted Voice Solutions, and dedication to closing the U.S. Digital Divide, GeoLinks is determined to bring connectivity to every unconnected Anchor Institution in America over the next seven7 years. To accomplish this goal, Skyler is aggressively looking to change the landscape of Internet across America by influencing the reform of broadband funding and spectrum policy on both the state and federal levels. Believing that action fuels influence, Skyler led GeoLinks to successfully connect more schools than any other ISP in both 2016 and 2017 and was an instrumental lobbyist in the passing of AB1665, the Internet for All Act, which brought $330m in new funding to the state of California. Within his company, Ditchfield is passionate about cultivating the best company culture around—one that combines respect, collaboration, and a “best idea wins mantra.” Both his dedication to closing the digital divide and commitment towards developing an exceptional company culture have won Skyler a variety of accolades including “World’s Top 5 Best Businessmen of 2017”, “Top Innovator in Diversity and Inclusion,” and “2018 Entrepre- neur of the Year”. Thriving on Challenges According to GeoLinks, the telecom industry is heavily dominated by multi-billion dollar virtual monopolies that receive massive tax credits and federal subsidies. Furthermore, the regulatory landscape and funding on both the state and federal level are tilted heavily to favor these “incumbent” providers—furthering their “perceived” monopoly status. However, GeoLinks thrives on challenges, and are aggressively working to reform and overcome these obstacles. GeoLinks Connecting Clients with Innovative Telecom Solutions 2020's Most Trusted Networking Solution Providers 12 | Insights Success | September 2020
- 15. GeoLinks’ ongoing strategy is to out- maneuver incumbent providers in competitive markets nationwide by providing a quality of service they can’t offer and maintain, and by going after businesses they either don’t want or can’t service. It’s in GeoLinks’ DNA to consistently innovate new methods and technologies that pushes it far ahead of the crowd. Tackling Bad Patches and Preparing for a Better Future In its early days, cousins and co-founders Ditchfield, CEO, and Ryan Hauf, CTO, decided that they will build their Internet Service Provider (ISP) business model to compete head-tohead with all the big guys—which was not very traditional for a smaller ISP provider. GeoLinks decided that to be successful and to make its goal of becoming a major national carrier a reality, they needed to penetrate the most competitive markets. Over the past seven years, GeoLinks’ innovative flagship product, ClearFiber™, named “Most Disruptive Technology” in the 2018 Central Coast Innovation Awards, the organization’s superior customer service, and its industry leading Service Level Agreement has led the organization to become the fastest growing telecom in California. When reflecting on the company’s rapid growth, Ditchfield comments that every struggle has been unique in its needs and solutions. In the beginning, many of these hurdles were finance-based, as the telecom didn’t have a significant financial backer. The organization had to remain as fiscally responsible as possible and fold all its revenue back into the company. As a business, it has learned that being honest and putting customers first always pays off in the long-run. So even in the case of a wrong step, GeoLinks has admitted it, fixed it, and been able to move on swiftly. In the near future, you can expect to see GeoLinks continuing to expand rapidly delivering gigabit and multigigabit access to new markets across the United States. This also includes working on new technologies and experimental spectrum to deliver gigabit speeds to residential clients. Furthermore, leadership plans to partner with like-minded organizations to expand into sensor networks and specific projects that encompass public safety, research, education, and much more. GeoLinks’ Golden Rule: We treat you like we want to be treated. Skyler Ditchfield Co-founder & CEO ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘‘ ‘ Ryan Hauf Co-founder & CTO September 2020 | Insights Success | 13
- 16. A Connected World 14 | Insights Success | September 2020
- 17. Networking and Business September 2020 | Insights Success | 15
- 18. rom speedy access to the Finternet to the ability to instantly get in touch with almost anyone anywhere in the world by dialling just a few digits, the contemporary technology-oriented world has changed the way we connect and communicate. With smart devices, people have also become smarter. Though the processes of connecting have become simpler, there is a need for effective communication and service between users, applications, services, devices and so forth. This is where network infrastructure comes into the picture. Let’s consider the current situation. COVID-19 has compelled IT busi- nesses to close their workplace and made their employees work remotely. As employees working from a different location on enterprise networks consists of traffic and thus, centralizing traffic could have been a challenge for business. To address this challenge, there arises a need for a suitable network infrastructure. Along with the employee's perfor- mance and excellent equipment, the agility and productivity of organiza- tions also depend on the robust and secured network infrastructure. In today’s digital age, businesses cannot afford to have poor user experience and security issues that can impact employee productivity and thus, are realizing the importance of adopting comprehensive network infrastructure. With sound networking solutions, businesses can ensure optimum efficiency and excellence in their operations. Even though enterprises have under- stood the importance of network infrastructure, choosing the right networking services partner is another challenge. Businesses are in search of partners with integrated networking solutions and a team that possesses the required skill-set and industry rich expertise. They are on the lookout for a solution provider which they can trust and rely on. Taking this need into consideration, many networking solution providers have come forward with cutting edge solutions and are ensuring the smooth running of the enterprises without any performance issue. The changes start with migration to 5G technology. It is built to increase the network speed and reduce latency. It will assist in the mobilization of employees allowing them to work from any part of the world. Next up is harnessing the prowess of Artificial Intelligence(AI) and Machine Learning(ML) in solving business problems in real-time. Right from hiring the most suitable candidate to process transformation and enriching customer experience, AI and ML can deliver solutions to help business flourish. Cloud Solutions are seen as the way forward to maintain business continu- ity and resilience and are being proven effective in today’s crisis. It has helped teams stay connected over work and seamlessly deliver services proving that physical distances can’t dampen the innovative spirits. Digital experi- ences supported by Cloud have found new takers during the pandemic and the technology is poised for steady growth. With so much dependence on net- works, it is bound to grow complex. To reduce and manage its complexity and shift creation of network rules and its maintenance, Intent-based networking is one solution to look-out for. The idea is to put a network control- ler(deploying AI/ML) that can regularly monitor the network, suggest best paths and continuously adjust the network performance for maximum output. And while we are at it, how can we not mention Internet of Things(IoT). From empowering manufacturing, providing enhanced tracking to logistics, to helping the healthcare sector in remote monitoring and more, IoT is redefining the way industries work and behave. As connectivity grows, so does IoT’s application. Networking is evolving and with each new step that it takes, it presents a new opportunity for businesses to digitally transform and scale their services. 16 | Insights Success | September 2020
- 20. When we browse the mainstream media, the mention of technology is often centred on key words viz., AI, Machine Learning, IoT, AR, automation, and social media platforms. However, while these technologies take the front page, none of these would move an inch if not for few chunks of metal, cables, software, and enterprise networking solutions. Turn off the enterprise networking infrastructures and everything starting from one’s smartphone, social media, airports, metro trains and even businesses goes for a toss. Cisco’s Annual Internet Report of 2020 stated that in just three years the number of connected devices will outnumber the global population by 3 to 1, with nearly 29 billion networked devices in 2023 when compared with the 18.4 billion in the year 2018. This number is equal to 4 devices per person who are relying on extensive network infrastructure that will require high-touch provisioning, security, servicing, responding to real-time network changes (network agility) and monitoring to keep things running. Lavelle Networks, a company based out of Bangalore had foreseen this requirement back in 2015. The Beginning of Success 5 years ago, in a quaint coffee shop on Bangalore’s Lavelle Road, Lavelle Networks had started a journey into the powerful world of Software Defined Networking (SDN). Having read the pioneering work at Google B4, Founder & CEO - Shyamal Kumar drew up all sorts of network challenges that could be solved by moving intelligence into the cloud. His team spent the initial time building the company’s product and taking it to field trials with potential customers as soon as he and his team could. And then from 2016 onwards, the company started finding early customers in retail and e-commerce companies. The company soon realized that the problems faced by enterprises as they migrated to the cloud and SaaS were immense in network performance, security, and complexity, not to mention the costs involved. Thus, the team decided that the company’s vision will be to deliver the best enterprise network experience for every user, on every device, for any application, on any cloud. “We believe that by doing this we will enable every customer to take their business to every location on the planet they wish to, because we will be there to ensure their networks are always accelerated, secured and simplified,” comments Mr. Kumar. The Pillar behind the Success At Lavelle Networks, Shyamal Kumar is instrumental in building a world class team and a product line which is the fastest growing solution in the Indian enterprise market. His experience in building data networking products and platforms since 2000, has helped him conceive ScaleAOn, the company’s flagship network service platform built on the cloud, for the cloud, and of the cloud. Shyamal Kumar’s experience ranges from data centre, enterprise to telecom products. Among his key contributions to the industry are the world’s first wireless broadband platform – the Telsima WiMAX portfolio, and the high-density Ethernet switching platform – the Juniper MX portfolio. The Root of Excellence With the company’s main goal being offering enterprise solutions, Lavelle Networks has solutions that help distributed enterprises manage, optimize, and secure their networks completely, from the cloud. It is unique because so far, enterprises have done this with their computer, storage, and applications, and now with the company’s proprietary platform, ScaleAOn they can use the cloud to make their networks work as well. The company has both hardware and software that is used in branch offices, retail outlets, hospitals, ATMs, restaurants, universities, law offices, factories; almost in every conceivable place of business, and it connects all such locations back to their cloud applications. What sets this network enterprise solution provider apart from all its competitors is its focus on scale and operational excellence. “Every year we have built the largest network on our technology - SD-WAN (Software Defined Wide Area Networking) from 2017 - 2020, in India,” comments Shyamal Kumar. The Added Advantages The biggest assets any company has Lavelle Networks A Leading Name in the Enterprise Network Solutions Market 2020's Most Trusted Networking Solution Providers 18 | Insights Success | September 2020
- 21. are client satisfaction and the ability to address all the issues faced by the clients, and while having successfully achieved the same, Lavelle Networks also gives its client an added advantage. The foremost benefit of using the company’s solution is that the overall network cost of ownership reduces drastically, as customers are able to use regular broadband Internet connections. Furthermore, the ScaleAOn technology makes these work like expensive private leased lines (or MPLS networks). The other benefits include deep application and user behaviour visibility into the daily traffic patterns, automated network optimization algorithms, and the ability to log into a cloud console and monitor the entire network. An IT team can now use their network (no matter how big it is), the way they use modern simple applications like Gmail or Zoom. The Need of the Hour While the world is struggling with a massive health crisis that has sent market economies into a tailspin, it has become difficult for industrialists to think about anything else other than maintain business continuity and returning to normalcy. Yet, unlike before, the new normal is working from home and while this has many benefits, it has equally challenged many other aspects of businesses, and network management is one among them. However, Lavelle Networks has risen to the occasion and is designing solutions that will allow the new normal to bring superlative results. The team at Lavelle Networks is excited about the prospect of taking its solutions into every user’s home. It is already busy building its initial platform for working from home, where one can separately prioritise enterprise and home internet traffic, including protecting the enterprise from being attacked from increased exposure to internet threats. “Our focus on scale means that whether it is 1000 branches or 100,000 users our solution scales gracefully on the cloud. We believe that our customers will invest more and more on their network solutions, since user productivity and thereby the business results are now directly dependent on the quality of the network to the cloud,” asserts Shyamal Kumar. Forecasting the Future Like every growing company, Lavelle Networks too has scaled up itself for glorious achievements and greater success. The company is now planning to broaden its portfolio, following its five-year journey from scratch to being called India’s No.1 enterprise network solutions provider by the industry experts. The company is planning to make multiple product announcements to bring its powerful software to work at different enterprise networking problems. The company’s success has attracted partnerships from world leading companies like Microsoft, Dell, and Intel and thus it will be working with their teams to take its solutions to multiple markets outside India. Beyond enterprise network solutions for the branch and home, the company has also launched initiatives to take its platform to deliver excellent network experiences on handheld devices as well, which is the ultimate frontier, or what it calls as the ‘Work from Anywhere’. st “In the 21 century, the most important business productivity factor is the quality, security and speed of the enterprise network, and we believe that puts us in a unique position to solve the most important IT infrastructure problems for our customers who are racing into their digital future,” concludes Shyamal Kumar. At Lavelle Networks, we define success by never losing focus from our customers Shyamal Kumar Founder & CEO ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘‘ ‘ September 2020 | Insights Success | 19
- 22. With a vision of “Driving Wireless Convergence” into new markets by delivering innovative, ultra-low power and multi-protocol products for the Internet-of-Things market, Redpine Signals was founded back in 2001. The IoT markets that Redpine targets include industrial, medical, wearables, home/building automation, home appliances, automotive, audio and video and smart energy sector. A “Culture of Innovation” is core to Redpine Signals which has – over its 16-year existence – invested over 5000 man-years of effort in the research and development of next-generation wireless technologies. This has resulted in Redpine having been issued over 65 patents with an additional 100 plus pending. Redpine has evolved its technology portfolio from Wi-Fi only to multi-protocol wireless, to integrated wireless/networking software, to cloud-based solutions with machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities to satisfy the ever-increasing requirements of the IoT market. A key differentiator of the company is its continued ability to deliver a complete ultra-low power solution (silicon, device, software, system) that enable IoT designers to get to market quickly and easily. Redpine Signal’s goal has always been to be an IoT solution provider. The company recognized early-on that most IoT development time was being spent on addressing integration issues of chipsets, modules, devices, and cloud. And while the market has always been full of point products, Redpine was the first to offer an end-to-end ultra-low power IoT solution. This strategy continues to benefit Redpine as the company grows its business into new markets and applications that need complete, low power and secure wireless solutions. An Experienced Leader With experience of more than 30 years in the semiconductor industry, Venkat Mattela is the Chairman and CEO of Redpine Signals. From day one, his vision for the IoT/Embedded industry has been to provide a complete solution that makes it easy for IoT vendors to add connectivity to products that previously were not connected. While the industry has never lacked wireless chipsets, it has always lacked complete solutions with ultra-low power consumption that IoT vendors could use to quickly and cost-effectively get to market. With Redpine Signals, Venkat has brought this solutions focus to the IoT market, and it is what the company continues to offer today as it drives wireless connectivity and low power capabilities into many markets. Before founding Redpine Signals, Venkat served as Director of the Network Media Platforms Group of Analog Devices (ADI). He was responsible for the product, strategy and business development for wireless media connectivity solutions. Venkat also led the VLSI development from concept engineering to release of multiple industry-leading networking silicon products resulting in a multi-million-dollar product line. Prior to joining ADI, he also served as Director at Infineon Technologies and was responsible for micro-architecture and design of the TriCore MCU-DSP processor. He led the team to take the architecture to multiple silicon implementations. Tackling Challenges and Competitions The IoT market requires devices that can stay connected to the network round-the-clock, driving the need for ultra-low Redpine Signals Driving Wireless Convergence 2020's Most Trusted Networking Solution Providers 20 | Insights Success | September 2020
- 23. power connectivity solutions. IoT devices also need to support multiple wireless protocols in order to connect to the cloud, connect to other devices, as well as support provisioning. In addition, security is a major issue for the IoT market, making it critical for device makers to provide multiple levels of security. Redpine’s products address all these challenges. Its technology spans a wide range of wireless protocols (802.11 abgn, dual mode Bluetooth 5, 802.15.4/ZigBee/ Thread, 802.11p), integrates security, and is based on an extensive patent portfolio of OFDM, MIMO, embedded processor architectures and low-power techniques. Most recently, in December 2017, the company further advanced its technology leadership by launching the industry’s lowest power wireless MCU and connectivity solutions for battery-operated devices. The ultralow power capabilities of these new products enable battery operated devices such as security cameras, smart locks, video doorbells, fitness bands, industrial sensors and location tags to have over three to four times more battery life compared to competing solutions. Redpine’s offerings include both the hardware and the software as certified (regulatory and protocol compliance) differentiated sub-systems to provide flexibility and ease of integration to the system integrator. This single-stop approach enables Redpine to deliver an optimal wireless solution to meet customer’s requirements at an optimal price point. Innovating the Future With more than 65 issued patents and 100 plus pending, Redpine offers technology and products that cover multiple market segments in the IoT market. Redpine continues to innovate by developing the next-generation of wireless technologies, adding more processing power for applications, providing more support for cloud connectivity and further reducing the power consumption of the devices. Redpine has always been a provider of a complete wireless connectivity solution, and will enhance this with application-specific solutions to further reduce time to market for IoT device makers. Redpine Signals will continue its mission of “Driving Wireless Convergence”. A “Culture of Innovation" is core to Redpine Signals. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘‘ ‘ Venkat Mattela Chairman & CEO September 2020 | Insights Success | 21
- 26. The future is wireless. Wi-Fi networks have become so ubiquitous that most mobile devices connect to the World Wide Web through Wi-Fi hotspots. This is the trend both in the home and in the workplace, and the ease and convenience inherent in wireless technology drives its popularity. Voice-over-Wi-Fi mobile telephony for enterprise was first rolled out in the late 1990s at healthcare facilities. It was largely unsuccessful as Wi-Fi networks could not adequately support voice data. Furthermore, many networking companies that installed the WiFi networks did not fully understand how that component fit into the bigger picture of wireless technology. Thousands of companies tried their hand at the emerging technology but very few of them have been able to pull it off globally. Turn-key Technologies (TTI) is one of the few that has. Evolving to Market Needs Turn-key Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1991. Its focus was on emergency communications for healthcare and similar organizations with mobile personnel. The company initially utilized radio communications as a means to notify large numbers of staff of emergencies, such as a ‘Code Blue’ within a hospital, or a mass personnel recall to a military base. The company’s successes in this area made it the go-to resource for Wi-Fi manufacturers who needed successful outcomes. Originally, TTI’s focus was on wireless communications, not IT, but it expanded the spectrum of its services in response to customers’ demands. Today, TTI offers a full suite of networking solutions from data center, core, and edge switching to indoor and outdoor wireless. Additionally, it facilitates network security, cloud security and managed solutions. The company also has a physical security division with the latest in IP video surveillance with analytics, lone worker protection, mobile duress alarms and access control. A third division of TTI is a wholesale cable manufacturer and supplier. The company even has full-time teams of structured cabling installers. This wide array of services has been employed by many global companies working in various verticals. The prime reason behind TTI’s success is its unwavering focus on its customers and their needs. The company invests considerable time and resources in pre-sales design and consultations. This ensures that the company is taking all of a client’s current and future needs into account in the design process. After installation, TTI provides one year of unlimited access to its services, 24x7x365 TAC at no charge. The entire team of engineers works extensively to help customers over the hump of learning a new system, and act as an extension of the customer’s IT department for one year. Turn-key Technologies A Networking Key to Thrive in IT 2020's Most Trusted Networking Solution Providers 24 | Insights Success | September 2020
- 27. An Eminent Leader Craig Badrick, President of TTI, is prominent in the Networking arena. He joined TTI in 1992 as a Regional Sales Manager. Craig’s hard work and leadership qualities earned him the appointment as President and CEO in March of 1999. TTI has experienced growth of over one thousand percent under Mr. Badrick’s guidance. He has been instrumental in securing a contract with the Veterans Administration to supply narrow band emergency communications systems for over one hundred VA Hospitals across the USA. TTI completed the transition in less than two years. Such significant client relations have played an important role in company’s developments. TTI has become a true leader in wireless communications across multiple platforms and manufacturers under Craig’s astute leadership. Over the past three years alone, TTI has been included on Inc.’s list of 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies, 20 Most Promising Wireless Providers and Top 10 Network Design and Integration Service Companies. Overcoming Early Challenges Craig recalls, “Originally, as we were not a networking company, our growing pains were centered on networking standards and understanding how a network works from A-Z.” The company had a vision but finding the resources required was another challenge. Thus, living up to networking standards was a tough ask. However, the company educated its relatively new but promising engineers, and hired networking specialists. Its focus on assimilating essential certifications also smoothened the process. Turn-Key Associate Engineers hold the highest manufacturer and agnostic certifications across all facets of business, and play a critical role in delivering the quality solutions for which the company is known. Gaining Trust with Best-in-Class Solutions TTI is committed to its journey as a trusted advisor to its clients. The primary aim is to provide them the design solutions and support they need with uncompromising agility, and to thrive on the global stage through innovation. We make IT simple. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘‘ ‘ Craig Badrick President & CEO September 2020 | Insights Success | 25
- 30. Accelerator Accelerator for Digital for Digital ransformation ransformation Accelerator for Digital ransformation 28 | Insights Success | September 2020
- 31. It’s not anymore a mystery how the evolution of technological era has taken place. Technology has revolutionized the perspective of the global population. The imprints of technological advancements can be seen in almost every sector. For example, blockchain technology is creating a digital record that verifies any transaction at a certain time and sequence, and AI is enabling new ways to interact with consumers via chatbots and artificial personal assistants. The use of internet has brought people from the different corners of the world closer than before, and computers have simplified data-processing, analyzing the organization, and communication for individuals as well as businesses. The one thing that keeps everything connected is Network. Be it accessing the internet, downloading a file, printing documents or emailing an urgent presentation, a sound network infrastructure is required. Networking Solutions have become a requirement of almost every individual and more importantly, businesses. In today’s business world, companies are adopting e-commerce module to reach out to the customers globally and making their shopping experiences simpler. In order to ensure the smooth running of such business modules, a suitable networking infrastructure is vital as it provides speed, connectivity, and ultimately value to the users as well as businesses, making it a win- win situation for both the parties. We can safely put that comprehensive networked systems are at the very heart of e-commerce. It has become crucial for businesses, irrespective of sizes, to have a robust network infrastructure as it is also counted as an essential component to enhance the agility and productivity of organizations. Network Infrastructure, if developed effectively, enables businesses to maximize productivity, reduce operational costs, and manage complex consolidations. Moreover, managed network services help businesses run the applications that fuel their day-to-day business, enhance their communication and sharing tools, and improves business flexibility and agility. Addressing Current Crisis If we consider the current pandemic situation, it has changed the way businesses operate and communicate. COVID-19 has enforced businesses to operate remotely. Employees working from multiple locations resulted in a need to inculcate integrated network monitoring solutions, as staying securely connected became a challenge. The chances of security risks and inherent physical limits like latency and bandwidth, which would hamper speed, seemed to occur for businesses. Companies with sound network monitoring solutions were successfully able to fight against the business effects of COVID-19. Adopting a network monitoring solution can assist companies in ensuring the smooth running of business networks and processes.It became evident that how secured network solutions can be resourceful in a crisis like situations. In fact, the research suggests that industrial networking solutions market size is expected to grow to USD 23.84 Billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.0% during the forecast period (2017–2022). Security is Still a Concern Networking along with value-added features also increases the chances of Robust Networks September 2020 | Insights Success | 29
- 32. cyber threats, which can make the company’s private data and emails vulnerable. Data being the core aspect of business requires high security. Businesses have immensely become dependent on computers and cloud technology to control large money transfers, store data, or communicate with the communities. They cannot afford any kind of security breach. Thus, network security is a vital aspect of businesses nowadays. Regardless of size, industry or nature of businesses, every organization can be a victim of cybercrime and thus, require a degree of network security solutions. Past instances of large-scale businesses, who admitted a loss of their sensitive data due to an internal or external security threat, exemplify why network security is of utmost importance. They had to pay a huge amount to recover from a security breach. Digitization has brought a drastic transformation in human lives as well as in the corporate world. Every business that aims at delivering products or services as per consumers’ demand must keep their network infrastructure secured, to earn the trust of their customers. Network Security not only protects them from cyberattacks or threats, but it also protects the reputation of businesses. Some common security threats active on the Internet are: Viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, Spyware and adware, Hacker attacks, Zero-day attacks, also called zero-hour attacks, denial of service attacks, data interception, and theft, and identity theft. Network security is available in the form of firewall protection, email security, anti-virus and anti-malware software, network segmentation, access control, application security, behavioural analytics, data loss prevention, mobile device security, security information and event management, VPN, Web Security, Wireless Security, etc. Upcoming Trends Shaping the Future of Networking • Wi-Fi 6 The upcoming development in the field of wireless connectivity is Wi-Fi 6. It is anticipated to change the face of networking solutions in the coming years by increasing the device density that can independently coexist in a single space without impacting the speed on a single device. • 5G It is the most awaited high-speed networking technology that would be providing blazing fast internet speed. 5G will be competitive in terms of performance, speed and latency with wired connections currently. • Digitized Spaces An intersection of IoT, sensors, mobile networks, and digitized spaces will make companies data-smart and derive deep customer and business insights by strengthening the networking solutions ecosystem for enterprise uses. • SD-WAN SD-WAN is a framework that will be agiler, more robust and enable organizations to route a huge amount of network traffic based on centralized roles and rules, promoting high-end data security. These trends are truly shaping the future of networking technology and are optimizing network performance for modern businesses. Harnessing the latest in the field of networking solutions, many network solution providers are developing integrated solutions to deal with the challenges businesses are facing. Future is Promising With the above mentioned upcoming trends, one can safely assert that the future of networking solution is set to be revolutionized. It doesn’t come as a surprise how new and emerging technologies have always driven networking best practices and will continue to do so. For example, it is believed by many tech experts that a combination of machine learning and artificial intelligence will aid network managers to create next-generation networking solutions to achieve high- end security and optimize network performance. To wrap it up, every size of business would require robust and secured network infrastructure to boost the performance of employees, productivity, and scalability. The current pandemic crisis has highlighted the need for integrated network solutions and how it can ensure the smooth running of businesses. Many network solution providers are walking an extra mile to come up with topnotch network security solutions to address the need of the small, medium as well as large scale enterprises. The pace at which the advancement in networking technology is growing with other evolving technologies and the future of networking solutions from here looks promising. 30 | Insights Success | September 2020