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Ensuring success when deploying mobile data solutions
Making the right decision as regards mobile data is tough – particularly when considering the fast pace of technical evolution and a growing market. Martin Kendrick, CEO and founder of Brand Communications, outlines where he thinks police forces should be focusing their efforts.
We are going through a period of near constant change and evolution in the communications options that are available to us in the field of mobile data. Year on year we see devices changing with ever more power and screen resolution; mobile carriers bring out ever faster near broadband services; and the growing demand for ever more processes and functions to be mobilised.
We can’t wait for evolution to stop before we make business decisions, so we need to make the right decision now – and one that will accommodate the changing environment around us without causing projects to become obsolete or compromised. The device itself is fundamental but more important are the choices we make in operating systems, communication strategies/architecture, and the practical impact on the use and operation of the system.
Islands of connectivity
Increasingly we are faced with a range of networks and communications options when moving through different environments and locations. Some of these options will be secured radio such as Airwave, others will be private like IPWireless or local force systems such as AWARE and some will be insecure such as public WiFi – and then there are the new 4G networks including LTE and WiMAX. In congested conditions such as the 7/7 London bombings the thought of “any port in a storm” – when considering the use of free or public hotspots – brings challenges and real opportunities.
In planning our strategy we should consider all options as viable but insecure, and overlay all bearers with a robust mobile capable VPN which is able to support NAT, PAT and other rigors of public assess points. Those who implement such a strategy and turn the many “islands” of connectivity into a single virtual unified platform will future-proof their project and gain significant flexibility.
Seamless connectivity and bearer bonding
The secret to any mobile data project is to ensure the user experience is the best possible. This means ensuring that any system management, connectivity problem, choice of bearer or configuration is managed by the device and is invisible to the user. The device is a tool to aid productivity and the officer or user should not be expected to act as IT manager. The device should seamlessly seek out the best bearer or bearers available at any point in time adding it into and out of the pool of available bandwidth automatically whilst at the same time maintaining a persistent single IP address for the applications to use. The Brand solution is unique in its ability to manage and bond dissimilar bearers into a single pool of bandwidth. The Brand Apollo bearer switching response is so fast that it cannot be detected even when the traffic is a VoIP telephone call.
Using Brand forward command and control units can make use of multiple mobile carriers at the same time to achieve better than 4Mbps links back to the Force network, and even higher speeds with bearers such as WiMAX. Combine this performance with the Brand Layer2 Encrypted VPN, and force VLAN’s can be delivered to such vehicles as though they were part of the main Force LAN. The Brand UI shows the bearers and throughput in use at any point in time, with all client and host information and status changes being logged in the central Brand database. Session management is fundamental to the complete proposition combining the integrity of real-time data with an ability to maintain a persistent IP address through changing wireless environments and out of coverage windows.
To PUSH or not to PUSH
At a time when there is a greater focus on the use of PDAs, there are very simple features that are often overlooked. PDAs can go online and get data but what if the force wants to initiate the transaction and PUSH data to the device, mobilise the officer or simply remotely update the device? What if the device has GPS and the force wants to track the officer? Most PDAs when not in use are in a suspended state and as such have no IP address and to all intents and purposes are no more than a mobile phone until activated into an online data state by the user. This is very restrictive and limits operational use and has forced some to fall back to non real time options such as SMS.
Brand is the only manufacturer who manages the suspended state, the data session and the power consumption to ensure that any Windows Mobile device is always IP connected, always available to send AVLS or GPS and is capable of triggering a foreground mobilising message or application whilst conserving power in a suspended state.
Choice of device
In the market place the majority of large scale mobile applications have been deployed on Windows PC or PDA platforms. The reason for this has been the availability of COTS applications with products such as Blackberry and Symbian being confirmed mainly to executive email and PIM solutions. To maximise the longevity of a device and achieve the greatest range of capabilities including such things as real time data, PNC access IDENT1 and video, the device needs to support more than just java and bespoke applications. They also need the ability to support a range of authentication models, real time data, strong VPNs and PUSH. Each product has its place but some may occupy a bigger place than others.
See a demonstration of our products at the BAPCO Exhibition – our mobile solutions are being shown on the Northrup Grumman stand (B37).
About the author
Martin founded Brand Communications in 1991 with the aim of establishing it as a centre of excellence for corporate IT systems and communications design. An expert in his field with over 18 years experience in the IT/communications industry, Martin is a frequent speaker on mobile data, mobile commerce and the communications business in general and has written numerous articles for many publications.
