“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”
- Wayne Gretzky, Hockey Hall of Famer
Integrators looking for future revenue opportunities should take note of the above quote from “The Great One”. As I have written many times, while the market trends are right in front of us, the difference is actually executing a business plan that leverages them. Can anyone argue that mobile technology has not created a major change in the consumer and business behavior of our society? Steve Jobs continues to provide smaller packaging (iPad) and increased connectivity (3G) as Apple marches past Microsoft in terms of market capitalization to become the largest technology company. Networking giant, Cisco Systems recently published two interesting factoids: (1) By 2013, global on-line video will be 60 percent of consumer Internet traffic (up from 35 percent in 2010), and (2) data traffic will roughly double each year from 2010 through 2013. That is tremendous growth over the next 2 ½ years! Do you have a plan to leverage these opportunities?
Mobile access crosses all industries and market segments. As network capacity drives more applications down to handheld devices, human behavior is impacted from both a positive and negative perspective. Smart integrators will offer new mobile management solutions combined with a solid financial justification. Because the functionality of mobile phones can include camera, microphone, and video features, these devices are increasingly being restricted due to potential security breeches. Companies and government agencies alike are now taking steps to identify “rogue” wireless devices.
AirPatrol is a firm that created a new and unique mobile detection technology. The product suite provides integrators with a state of the art wireless threat management solution. The Wireless Locator System (WLS) identifies cell phones and laptops using Wi-Fi or broadband cellular modems by deploying a wireless mesh node across battery-powered sensors (in portable briefcases) around a facility. While the original goal of the product was to prevent the theft of sensitive data, another benefit is monitoring employee productivity. Brad Rotter, chairman and CEO, explains, “One confidential government customer estimated that conservatively over 25% of their employee’s work day was spent conducting non work activity off line using personal mobile devices. Based on the number of employees in this agency, our return on investment was measured in months.” This situation is certainly repeatable across any number of business opportunities. Security and employee productivity concerns offer a dual use proposition that migrates an integrator’s solution set nicely into the sweet spot of this emerging mobile workforce. The key for the customer is being able to deploy this less costly technology, while implementing the business processes that can be simultaneously monitored and managed.
AirPatrol sees an outstanding opportunity to expand their partner program to include security integrators. “AirPatrol’s Channel Partner Program is an innovative and robust program to help resellers grow their business as global demand for our industry-leading cellular and WiFi intrusion detection system increases,” said Ozzie Diaz, CEO, AirPatrol. “Members have access to the tools needed to grow their own businesses and expand visibility for AirPatrol in new markets and core verticals such as government, financial services, medical and retail.”
AirPatrol has embraced a growth market that can provide an integrator with the door opening benefit statement of improving both security and employee productivity. To paraphrase the Great One, this puck has revenue opportunities written all over it.
