Last week I drove to Duchesne, Utah for a gathering of the UWIN Technology Committee. This is a group comprised mostly of Utah Constabulary and is mostly concerned about connecting patrol cars to mobile voice and video services throughout the state. Most often there are just a few of us who are unarmed. So, knowing that I'm in the presence of all that firepower I feel very safe. Just as long as I mind my own business and don't say anything foolish.

A regular feature of these meetings is a period toward the end reserved for vendor presentation. At this meeting two vendors presented. The vendors were Ecutel and NetMotion Wireless. Both vendors manufacture software intended to provide secure, persistent wireless connectivity. In the law enforcement community, these products allow an officer to log on in the morning and keep applications going all day long without the need to log in each time wireless connectivity is lost and then re-established. I also imagine that information passed to these law enforcement types is very, umm, sensitive. Security is a big deal.

Applications stay in the same state, regardless of connectivity to the network. A user can pass from a wireless LAN to Internet hotspots to Cellular service and maintain a secure connection. Applications stay right where they are left. File transfers that are interrupted resume immediately when the officer is back in range. All this without the need to have wireless specific applications.

There are subtle differences between the products. NetMotion requires their server be placed inside the firewall with the accompanying need to punch a hole. Ecutel places their server outside the firewall, and converts traffic to generic ports. Ecutel also purports to be more standards based than NetMotion.

I believe that Utah Law Enforcement agencies have been using NetMotion and that Ecutel is a fairly recent option. Both companies claim to move easily between cellular and 802.11 wireless connectivity. The cost, without volume discounts, per seat is around $150. These both seemed like great products for users who depend on wireless connectivity for network access and do not want to go through the hassle of constantly re-initializing applications every time wireless connectivity is compromised. I'm not sure just how mobile I am and these aren't products for me. But I can see how they could help field staff and other highly mobile users...........
10:09:10 PM    comment []