Wavelink Widens Mobile Device Coverage

September 13, 2011 Alex Woodie

The thrust toward mobile computing has never been greater. Employees of all types are clamoring to do their tasks from smartphones and tablets. But bringing mobile devices into the enterprise poses a number of management and security issues. One company at the forefront of addressing these challenges is Wavelink, a vendor that may be familiar to many IBM i shops.

Utah-based Wavelink has been a staple provider of wireless management tools for American distributors, retailers, and manufacturers. The company’s flagship product, Avalanche, is a mobile device management tool that handles tasks such as provisioning new devices and making sure an organization’s wireless signals are encrypted. The company also makes terminal emulation software, which enables warehouse workers to reach 5250 screens from their wireless barcode scanners or RFID readers.

Recently, Wavelink has been widening its reach with Avalanche to address the lack of enterprise management of consumer-oriented smartphones like the Apple iPhone, the Google Android smartphone, and RIM devices. The launch of Avalanche version 5 a year ago brought these devices under the management of the Avalanche system.

Last week, Wavelink announced a partnership with NitroDesk, a developer of software that synchronizes Microsoft Exchange with Android phones

By integrating NitroDesk TouchDown with Avalanche, Avalanche users can now manage the TouchDown processes from the Avalanche management console. This should make it easier for administrators to ensure that Exchange users have secure access to their email, calendars, contacts, and tasks from the Android environment.

“Android devices are no longer just for personal use; they are now being used extensively within the enterprise,” says Jay Cichosz, Wavelink vice president of marketing. “However, Android devices do not have a standardized, manageable interface for Microsoft Exchange. By partnering with the leading, third-party client for Exchange on Android devices, organizations can manage the device and the Exchange data on it to ensure that sensitive corporate data is kept secure regardless of where that personal device may go.”

Last month Wavelink launched Avalanche version 5.2. The new version features improvements in the areas of reporting, organizing devices, security, location-based services, and two-way messaging between administrators and users, the company says. New firmware and drivers have been added to enable Avalanche to manage access points from Aruba Networks and Motorola.

Wavelink says it drove multi-tenancy deeper into the product, which helps pave the way for its Avalanche On Demand and Avalanche Managed Services offerings. The product’s Web-based management console was also internationalized, allowing more adoption overseas.

“No matter the combination of rugged devices, smartphones, tablets, wireless access points, or other wireless devices, Avalanche enables organizations to manage them through a central console to reduce costs and improve productivity,” Peter Cannon, senior product manager for Wavelink, says in a press release.