This open approach to mobility supports an enterprise-wide mobility strategy that centralizes mobility management with "best of breed" WLAN security and promotes the development of mobile solutions that drive business agility and speed decision-making while reducing costs. The new Open Mobility Solutions and open APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) make it easy to add third-party solutions that integrate mobility with existing business processes.
"Our research shows that enterprises are searching for a strategic enterprise-wide solution to address their rapidly growing mobility requirements. Responding to application point solutions is no longer enough," stated Eugene Signorini, VP Enterprise Applications and Mobile Solutions from Yankee Group. "By combining its VoIP portfolio, its expanded WLAN infrastructure and WiFi device offering, Siemens delivers a foundation for mobility with enterprise grade performance and reliability."
The HiPath Wireless Manager is a new, centralized WLAN management platform that enables the enterprise-wide management of thousands of Access Points and tens of thousands of users from a single console. Enterprises can now monitor and optimize performance using enterprise-wide heat maps, statistics, alerts and reports. A new key element of the HiPath Wireless Manager software is its Open Services Framework which facilitates the third party development of integrated converged voice, data and video applications for enterprise-wide mobility.
The new Siemens HiPath Ready Partner Program for Open Mobility Solutions is an extension of the HiPath Ready Certification Program and gives third party vendors, such as developers, systems integrators, VARs and VADs, access to open APIs to develop their own extensions to the HiPath Wireless Manager framework. The new HiPath Ready Partner Program will allow vendors to develop customized mobility solutions for their own unique business processes. Additionally, customers can be assured that these solutions have passed rigorous certification requirements so they are HiPath Ready.
Siemens has also introduced HiPath Wireless Convergence Software V4 for its WLAN Controllers and Access Points. Convergence Software V4 builds on Siemens' unique Open Flexible Intelligent (OFI) switching architecture that intelligently optimizes traffic routing and QoS based on application requirements driven through its new Open Services Framework. This new release also adds a number of the latest standards based enhanced voice features:
* Enhanced voice quality capabilities (TSPEC)
* Improved power management and extended battery life for wireless devices (UAPSD)
* Better prioritization capabilities for future applications such as e911 (CAC, TSPEC)
* Intelligent roaming capabilities for greater call quality (QBSS)
These new HiPath offerings bring together mobile, telephony and IT communications, using standards-based technology that is open to business process integration.
