M2MAPPS: Wyless Connect seems to have to have two main activities. Backup services for business continuity and the deployment of wireless devices. Let’s start with continuity. Is that your core competence?

BENNETT ALPERT: I’d prefer to describe the company as having a single expertise in wireless networks and a core competence to configure, deploy and support the hardware that’s needed to run them. But business continuity is definitely a key activity. All businesses experience network outages on their wireline network even if it’s just a few hours in the year. A business-class router and a secondary service is a baseline insurance policy that every company should have but of course we do more. For example, we take the pain out of getting devices activated on a carrier’s network and I have to restrain myself when talking about the difficulties users experience in getting a back-up service from MNOs. It can take months: we take a few days.

M2MAPPS: How does it work?

BENNETT ALPERT: On the hardware side we stock routers, Wi-Fi access points, antennas, USPs (uninterruptable power supplies) and data cards. They can be purchased online from http://store.wyless.com. And as an integral part of the Wyless Group we get fast connections to a multi-carrier, global wireless data network. We’re also setting up wireless services for key market sectors, one of the first being a partnership with Nationwide Money Services that provides secure wireless ATM connectivity.

M2MAPPS: Does this mean that you foresee cellular connectivity becoming the primary connectivity medium?

BENNETT ALPERT: I do, absolutely, but let me explain and bring in what sounds like an oxymoron — primary-secondary and secondary-primary networks. I’ll give you an example. If we put a guest Wi-Fi service into a building; let’s say it’s a bank, it’s clear that the bank isn’t going to allow customers to have access to the their private network. Therefore Wi-Fi is a secondary network for the bank but a primary network for the customers. Another example: we’ve deployed thousands of healthcare kiosks in drug stores that are often located in large supermarkets such as Wal-Mart. Similarly, they are not going to let kiosk users onto their corporate network, so they need a second primary network for those customers. Cellular is clearly the optimum way to go for cost, convenience and timing: wireless days instead of several wireline months. Moreover as LTE is becoming ubiquitous, the high-data rates that this service delivers allow high-quality video links to be established to a doctor of clinician if the user’s medical data is critical. We’re also seeing the need for fast deployment for new services such as chat and video help at ATM machines that are going into new locations.

M2MAPPS: OK. What about the deployment of wireless devices?

BENNETT ALPERT: I should explain that Wyless, the parent company, is a global managed services provider. Customers and partners bring their own wireless devices, today’s BYOD model, and they still do. Wyless activates and manages these devices and also provides a full set of support services 24/7. Wyless Connect brought additional engineering expertise to the table and for our back-up wireless services we use pre-configured, enterprise-quality hardware. We get our business continuity solutions up and running quickly because we plug into an in-house data network and we also employ Wyless’ robust management platform, Porthos, to keep them running efficiently. And via two partnership agreements we can call on the services of over nine thousand technicians who can be deployed quickly for on-site tasks.

M2MAPPS: What else do you get from your relationship with Wyless?

BENNETT ALPERT: I think I’ve covered the main points, but the ability to leverage a global ICT network that has been built up over ten years and that is still growing as well as the knowledge and experience that comes from deploying and managing numerous M2M solutions. That gives us a very robust foundation on which to build next-generation Internet of Things scenarios. We’re very well placed to become a major player in this space.

M2MAPPS: What about future plans? Are you aiming to be a ‘one-stop shop’?

BENNETT ALPERT: I think we already are. I say think because I’m not exactly sure what the term means: it’s become a buzzword that gets thrown around. Most times it means “one throat to choke” and I don’t like that expression. What really counts is the ability to provide the best professional services to deploy and manage the customers’ solution and they all involve an ecosystem. No vendor can do end-to-end solutions in house, but vendors such as Wyless Connect can head up the ecosystem: be a single point of contact that sends one bill and takes responsibility for the solution’s performance. Our future plans right now Include working with the new carriers that are coming on board in order to help seal the many deals that are coming our way. It’s a cliché, but we’re very excited about the future.