Oregon Solution Provider Grows Services Business by Adding Managed Wi-Fi

Solution provider Compex2 of suburban Portland, OR, successfully grew its services business by managing Wi-Fi networks powered by CloudCommand, and as result responded to its customers’ wireless needs, expanded its business and improved its profitability.

Originally a PC shop selling hardware and networking devices, the firm has gradually moved into managed services as it builds a reputation in the Willamette Valley as a go-to expert for supporting the full spectrum of a customer’s IT needs, particularly in the healthcare industry.

In the past two years, HIPAA compliance has become a critical issue for President Matthew Middlestetter’s customer base.  So too has the management of mobile devices appearing on office networks.

When it came time to upgrade a healthcare facility’s wireless network, Middlestetter sought a solution that would meet his customer’s connectivity, security and reporting requirements while staying within their budget limits.  Consumer solutions were inadequate.  Enterprise solutions were too expensive.

CloudCommand-Powered Wi-Fi  

What Middlestetter needed was a wireless network that offered business-grade functionality at a price point his customers could afford.  What he discovered was a CloudCommand-powered solution through OPEN Networks.

The CloudCommand platform delivers cloud-enabled networking functionality that transforms business connectivity overnight - affordably empowering small businesses, healthcare organizations, school districts and more with  features and management controls which until now only existed in expensive enterprise environments.

Even better, Middlestetter immediately recognized that CloudCommand-powered networks offered him the opportunity to effortlessly expand their managed-services business into the wireless category.

Wi-Fi Success and Recurring Revenue

In a single afternoon, Compex2 deployed and began remotely managing a network of 14 access points supporting a state-of-the-art medical facility in Oregon’s capital of Salem.  Tasks such as device provisioning, troubleshooting and capturing real-time network usages reports became as simple as clicking a mouse button.  As the Wi-Fi network administrator, Compex2 bills for its management services on a monthly per-access point basis.

The experience proved incredibly successful.  So successful that in a matter of weeks, Compex2 began deploying CloudCommand-powered networks into additional healthcare facilities around the Willamette Valley.

Today, it has a half-dozen sites under management with more to come.  Administration is handled by a Compex2 administrator though a single user interface.  The efficiency is unbeatable, and Compex2 is earning dependable, recurring revenue from a new line of business.

“With no previous wireless experience, we successfully built a managed-services business around CloudCommand in a matter of months,” said Middlestetter.  ”Our customers are extremely pleased with their networks.  Our administrator remotely handles all their needs with efficiency, and we have a steady stream of revenue.  In 2012, we expect our Wi-Fi management business to double.”

Provider Benefits

• Build Profits:  Recurring Revenue & Profitability through Cloud-Based Managed Wi-Fi
• Develop a New Line of Business:  Opportunity to Manage Wi-Fi for Existing and New Customers
• Be a Hero to Customers:  Real-Time Customer Support through Remote Management
• Improve Efficiency:  Simultaneous Management of Multiple Customer Sites

Learn more

“It’s a New Day at the PARC”

PowerCloud Systems was incubated by the PARC until our 2010 spin-out.  Intellectual property underpinning our CloudCommand software platform was developed at PARC.  Our headquarters are on its beautiful campus, and PARC is one of our investors.

The Silicon Valley Business Journal highlights PARC’s increasing importance in the startup ecosystem and touts its success with PowerCloud.  Diana Samuels writes:

It’s a New Day at the PARC

It’s a new day at the PARC.

Using technology developed at one of Silicon Valley’s most storied research centers, Jeff Abramowitz’s startup just raised $6 million.

Abramowitz said his company, PowerCloud Systems Inc., which was incubated at the Palo Alto Research Center and announced the Series B funding from Qualcomm Ventures on Dec. 14, is part of a “new wave” of innovation and research at PARC as the center’s business model has evolved.

PARC has transformed in recent years, from a research center for its parent company, Xerox Corp., into a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox that looks for broader business opportunities in innovation. In the Xerox days, PARC was famous for inventing great technologies that Xerox never capitalized on. Now, PARC’s CEO Stephen Hoover said the research center serves exactly that function: Help businesses like PowerCloud use PARC’s technology in commercially viable projects.

“There’s a history of having great scientists (at PARC), and now we have great innovators — the people who bring together that fundamental capability in technology, and couple it with a business sense and a focus on customer needs,” Hoover said.

The Business Journal notes that PARC works with about a half-dozen startups at a time, taking equity in the companies, entering into licensing agreements or taking cash fees for access to PARC’s research.

PARC originally hired Abramowitz as a consultant and then named him entrepreneur-in-residence, giving him seed funding for the development of a business based on PARC’s patented intellectual property work. PowerCloud, which has just under 20 employees and a total of about $10 million in funding, is independent but continues to work out of PARC’s Palo Alto campus. The company makes a system to manage networking equipment through the cloud.

“It really is a good environment for innovation,” Abramowitz said. “I know how to focus to get a business going, but I actually thrive in an environment where you have a lot of smart people around with creative thoughts.”

The entire article is worth a read (subscription).

Happy New Year!

News: Managing Wireless Networks as a Service

 Veteran IT & channel analyst Michael Vizard highlights how MSPs are positioning themselves for profits and efficiency using the CloudCommand platform to develop Networking as a Service (NaaS) models:

The emergence of the bring-your-own-technology (BYOT) phenomenon coupled with the multiplication of wireless networks in the enterprise is creating a new opportunity for solution providers in the channel.

As the number and types of mobile computing devices on the network continue to expand, managing is proving to be a major challenge for many IT organizations.

At the same time, many organizations now have multiple wireless networks in place from different vendors. Ideally, those networks and all the devices attached to them would all be managed under a common framework.

That’s the capability that PowerCloud Systems is trying to deliver as a service through the channel. According to PowerCloud CEO Jeff Abramowitz, PowerCloud has been working with providing its CloudCommand service via OEM partners. In the wake of attaining an additional $6 million in a round of funding led by Qualcomm, the company is now trying to expand its partner ecosystem in the channel.

Specifically, CloudCommand-powered networking devices enable MSPs to provide SMB customers with enterprise-like networks that cost a fraction of traditional enterprise solutions.

MSPs deploy and operate CloudCommand-powered networks because they gain a rich set of tools (think plug-and-play deployments, remote management, real-time alerting, etc.)  that enable them to rapidly expand their services to include NaaS as a profitable and recurring revenue stream.  Learn about our solutions in action.

Read the article.

PARC Spin-Out PowerCloud Systems Raises $6 Million from Qualcomm

 PowerCloud Systems, a spin-out of Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) that offers a ‘networking-as-a-service’ platform for OEMs and service providers, has raised $6 million in Series B funding in a round led by Qualcomm Ventures, with prior backers Walden Venture Capital, Javelin Venture Partners and PARC participating.

The capital will be used to enhance the company’s online software platform, CloudCommand.

The CloudCommand platform enables networking OEMs and service providers to integrate cloud capabilities with their wireless and wired networking equipment and to deliver networking-as-a-service-based solutions for SMBs.

CloudCommand’s initial implementations support Wi-Fi networking, and in 2012 the company says it will expand into additional networking categories.

PowerCloud Systems is not only a spin-out from PARC, but its technology is also supported by intellectual property developed at the research center, including 10 patents in areas ranging from cloud-virtualized network controllers to usable security.

The company has raised approximately $10 million to date.

Read the article.

Press Release: PowerCloud Secures $6 Million in Series B Funding Led by Qualcomm

 We’re pleased to announce our Series B funding with new lead investor Qualcomm (QCOM) through its investment arm, Qualcomm Ventures.  All existing investors participated as well.

Qualcomm, the world leader in next-generation mobile technologies, has built its reputation by repeatedly identifying and investing in next-generation technologies poised to transform the mobile industry.

Today’s announcement validates that Networking as a Service (NaaS) is poised to transform the networking sector and that PowerCloud is a market leader in the space.

PowerCloud Systems Secures $6 Million in
Series B Funding Led by Qualcomm

Funding Fuels Growth of Networking as a Service (NaaS) Platform
for OEMs and Service Providers

Palo Alto, Calif., December 14, 2011 – PowerCloud™ Systems, the leading software platform provider for enabling Networking as a Service (NaaS), today announces $6 million in Series B financing. The round was led by Qualcomm via its venture investment arm, Qualcomm Ventures.  PowerCloud Systems’ existing investors – Walden Venture Capital, Javelin Venture Partners and PARC – all participated in the round.

Key Facts

• PowerCloud Systems will use the funds to enhance the capabilities of its patented CloudCommand™ online software platform and to expand the company’s sales efforts worldwide.
• The CloudCommand platform enables networking OEMs and service providers to integrate cloud capabilities with their networking equipment and to deliver NaaS-based solutions for SMBs.
• Qualcomm Ventures focuses on early-stage technology companies with disruptive technologies that can transform the global wireless ecosystem.  PowerCloud Systems is enabling an industry shift to NaaS by applying cloud technologies to wireless and wired networking infrastructure.
• PowerCloud Systems is the industry’s leading NaaS platform provider, and in 2011 it delivered CloudCommand solutions to products developed by D-Link, ZyXEL, Ubiquiti Networks, Amer Networks and Arada Systems while additionally securing technology partnerships with Qualcomm Atheros and others.
• Powerfully Simple Networking™ solutions powered by CloudCommand are customized by each partner and deliver compelling features such as multi-customer remote administration, hardware self-configuration, multi-location coverage, customizable hotspot functionality, enhanced device security, real-time monitoring and performance reporting.
• PowerCloud Systems is a spin-out from PARC, a premier center for innovation, and the technology underpinning the CloudCommand platform is supported by intellectual property developed at PARC, including 10 patents in areas ranging from cloud-virtualized network controllers to usable security.
• CloudCommand’s initial implementations support Wi-Fi networking, and in 2012 the company will expand into additional networking categories while continuing to develop innovative cloud features.

Comments

Quinn Li, Senior Director of Qualcomm Ventures

“Qualcomm Ventures is focused on funding transformative business opportunities,” said Quinn Li, senior director of Qualcomm Ventures.  “PowerCloud’s technology platform enables powerfully simple networking-as-a-service solutions that can redefine the small-business networking market. PowerCloud’s innovative business model is compelling for both vendor and channel partners, and we’re excited to help propel its growth.”

Jeff Abramowitz, Founder and CEO of PowerCloud Systems

“PowerCloud is extremely pleased to add Qualcomm Ventures to our board,” said Jeff Abramowitz, president and CEO of PowerCloud Systems.  “Qualcomm has a tremendous track record in boosting the business growth of companies with broad enabling technologies.  We have a backlog of opportunities, and we are now poised to accelerate our market leadership.”

Read the Press Release.

RETAIL Solutions: RideNow Powersports of Tempe, Arizona

RideNow Powersports is the country’s  premier motorcycle, ATV and watercraft dealership group with 22 locations across United States and more than 600 employees.  Managing both corporate and branch-office IT responsibilities from the company’s Tempe headquarters, IT Director Joe Hennessy knew he needed a cloud-based solution that would be easy to deploy and provide a unified Wi-Fi network across all locations.  He selected D-Link’s CloudCommand-powered solution for its blend of affordability and management features.

Hennessy configured the network sitting at his desk, and he’s halfway through the installation.  After registering the access points through his CloudCommand dashboard, he ships them to the store managers who plug them in and allow them to self configure.  In minutes, another dealership comes online and is fully operational.  Back in Tempe, Hennessy can monitor the status of each location.  To ensure network privacy, he uses CloudCommand’s highest security setting, IDA.

“We are a large, geographically diverse operation and we’re bringing Wi-Fi online for the first time,” Hennessy said.  “Some dealerships may have technical expertise, but many don’t.  It was critical to deploy a cloud-based solution that I could manage remotely in real time.  Not only is the CloudCommand-based solution affordable, but it delivers the core management features I need to provide business wireless.”

EDUCATION Solutions: Forestville Central School District in New York

The Forestville Central School District (FSCD) near Buffalo, NY, relies on a CloudCommand-powered network from Amer Networks to deliver secure Wi-Fi to its student body, staff and administrators.

The district’s 14-unit installation supports several hundred users at multiple locations and provides administrators the tools to manage and monitor connectivity.

Leveraging CloudCommand’s patented Individual Device Authentication (IDA™), Technology Coordinator Murphy individually identifies, secures and monitors every device that accesses his network.  He maintains a separate guest network for public events.  Murphy has assigned additional administrators to the manage the network in case he’s unavailable and he receives real-time alerts when issues arise.

“Every public school district needs to take a serious look at Amer Networks’ CloudCommand-powered solution,” said Murphy.  ”It was designed for the budgets and needs of the education market.  It not only delivers excellent Wi-Fi, but gives me multiple tools to manage my network.  We saved money and we got the network we needed.”

PowerCloud Is Hiring!

Do you have the passion and drive to transform an industry and bring cloud-powered Networking as a Service (NaaS) to the mainstream?  PowerCloud Systems is looking for talented team members who are ready to join the NaaS revolution.

We’re fast paced, high energy and excellent to work with.  We’re based inside the famous PARC research labs, a center of innovation and thought leadership.  Here are the some of the available positions:

• Senior Web Applications Developer (multiple positions)
• Web Applications Developer (multiple positions)
• Senior Embedded Software Engineer
• Senior UX/UI Designer
• QA Automation Engineer
• Field and Support Engineering Manager

Visit our Career Page on our website and check back often!

Coming to Market: ZyXEL Explains the Advantages of Cloud-Managed Wi-Fi

 In November, we announced our partner ZyXEL had begun shipping its first CloudCommand-powered product, the NWA1100N-CE.

Here’s an animated overview from ZyXEL highlighting the features, benefits and affordability that our CloudCommand platform delivers to SMBs:

Click to watch the video.