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Enure Networks Unveils World’s First Software to Automate Home Networking, Enabling an Unprecedented Removal of All User Set Up, Configuration and Repair ComplexitiesFirst Service Provider Customer Also Announced – Will Deploy Enure’s Product to its Broadband Access Customers to Automate Home Networks – Including to Fix Service Problems With Total Transparency to Users HERZELIYA, Israel – June 12, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) – Enure Networks today announced the world’s first product capable of completely automating the setup, configuration, repair and total management of home networks and broadband services. This new product will have an enormous impact on the way consumers are able to enjoy their home networks, by removing any worry about the reliability and availability of broadband access and related services such as Internet access, IPTV and VoIP. Once installed in the home, Enure’s software completely manages the home network inconspicuous to the user, eliminating the need for consumers to understand complex technology set up, configuration, management and repair processes. The product actually maintains the network in an optimal state and fixes network problems transparently to the user – even if the user alters network configurations rendering access inoperable – to ensure an always available network. This opens the door for far greater adoption of home networking by consumers as Enure for the first time shields users from the complexities of home networking, allowing networks and their services to just work without user intervention or technical support. For service providers (SP) including, telecommunications and cable multi-service operators (MSO), such advancements in home network and broadband services management opens up immense opportunities. By deploying Enure’s product to customers, service providers will dramatically reduce customer support costs related to fixing common broadband access problems. Enure’s product actually intelligently knows the proper settings and status for each networked device and maintains this optimal performance, repairing any deviation from this norm without user intervention. This sets up service providers to gain the loyalty required by consumers to trust their SPs to deliver more complex services such as Voice-over-IP (VoIP), Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), Video-on-Demand (VoD) and more. This killer application for the home networking market is software-based for consumers. The software, named Service Shield™, can be bundled on a CD as part of new service bundles or downloaded for existing customers, making mass deployment by service providers a snap. It can also be seamlessly embedded within a service providers own home network software. Once installed on each networked PC in the home, Service Shield intelligently identifies the optimal state of the network to begin maintaining optimum performance and correcting problems as they happen. Fixes are intuitively accomplished through root cause analysis, not traditional symptomatic treatment as before, to fix entire chains of problems and keep home networks at peak performance 24/7. This is accomplished with unnoticeable impact on CPU, bandwidth or other PC or networking performance. “Traditional solutions are far too limited in repairing home network problems and typically call on consumers to take some action at some point to repair problems,” said David Sayag, VP of Marketing and Founder, Enure Networks. “This is the barrier that limits the home networking market from reaching its fullest potential. Furthermore, it is the largest obstacle service providers face in acceptance of next generation services such as VoIP and IPTV – to win over the trust of consumers in having confidence their networked services will always be as reliable and available as their phone and TV are today. To achieve this, the last unmanaged frontier – the home – had to be conquered with a holistic approach that requires no user skills or involvement. We are more than ecstatic to claim that Enure is the first company to make this a reality.” Prior to Service Shield, the lack of any product being able to ensure transparent home network operation meant that when access problems arose, consumers had to seek technical support. With the average consumer lacking the technical knowledge to resolve most networking problems, customers sought aid from their service providers. But service providers have to control support costs to keep service pricing competitive. As such, service providers inadvertently frustrate customers by first trying to push them to self support web sites, manuals, chat tools or email support. Frustrated users bypass these and seek to talk to a live person, minimizing SP return on investment for such tools while creating disloyal customers. Add to this the numerous times that SPs must escalate support calls or use “truck rolls” to dispatch technicians to the home, and technical support becomes a huge cost, time and customer retention hindrance for both SPs and customers. First Service Provider Customer Announced Enure has signed its first customer, Israel’s largest telecommunications company, Bezeq, which has around one million subscribers. The deal with Bezeq involves deployment of Enure’s Service Shield product to the vast majority of its broadband access users. Enure will provide Bezeq with a tailored Service Shield solution to fit Bezeq’s unique CPE deployments with customers. Service Shield is being deployed to users, typically via a download, for installation on all home-networked PCs. Service Shield will then instantly begin automating user home network environments to provide zero user involvement in repairing, managing and configuring their broadband access services. The deal is planned to involve several phases, with the first phase terms being valued at around one million dollars for Enure. “Users today can encounter a myriad of problems. It might be an unauthorized user on the network. It could be that you accidentally changed your network configuration causing a loss of access. Perhaps a user can’t figure out if their problem is the PC or router. These are situations that have led to frustrating technical support help in the past,” commented David Furstenberg, CEO, Enure Networks. “But Enure shields users from the complexities behind the scenes of home networking – even if a user messes up the settings themselves – so users never have to worry again about any complexity of home networking. It just works, efficiently, optimally and securely. Essentially, we’ve made the entire home networking environment plug and play, as simple to install and start using as, say, plugging in a new microwave oven.” Enure is also making an advanced solution available to service providers to empower them with even greater control of home networked devices. The Enure Networks True Information & Control (TIC)™ system empowers SPs with unprecedented data to enable even greater broadband access service. With TIC, remote management can include automatic updates and upgrades to firmware/software on customer premise equipment (CPE) without interrupting their customers. TIC can also enable policy enforcement such as bandwidth allocation for advanced services like VoIP and IPTV, to ensure optimum quality and peak bandwidth for these applications. As well, TIC collects a myriad of information for SPs to better assess deployed equipment and services. TIC can collect and report root-cause failures right down to a single home to identify patterns in service disruptions, leading to proactive rather than reactive service repair. TIC can also report fixes that occurred on a system, CPE inventory, performance information and more to spot trends or problems with specific equipment or software versions deployed with customers. Essentially, the combination of Service Shield and TIC enable SPs to turn the support center into a profit center of selling advanced services rather than a cost center focused on costly technical support. Pricing and Availability Enure’s first stage strategy is to partner with telecommunications companies, MSOs and Internet service providers (ISP) to offer their customers the Service Shield software or to deploy the TIC system. This presents the fastest method for large deployments to customer bases over individual purchases. A retail strategy might be considered after 2006. As well, Enure is targeting consumer software vendors, consumer electronics vendors, operations support system (OSS) vendors and system integrators for partnerships. Both Service Shield and TIC are available now and pricing is dependent on configuration. About Bezeq Bezeq is Israel’s national telecommunications provider. Established in 1984, the company has led Israel into the new era of communications, based on the most advanced technologies and services. Bezeq and its subsidiaries offer the full range of telecommunication services including domestic, international and cellular phone services; Internet, ADSL, and other data communications; leased lines, and corporate networks. More information can be found online at http://www.bezeq.co.il/Cultures/en-US/Bezeq/. Private Ownership Following Privatization: The privatization of Bezeq was completed in October 2005, with the majority shareholding sold to the Apax-Saban-Arkin Group. After 20 years of government ownership, Bezeq was transferred to private investors. Yaakov Gelbard has been appointed as the new CEO. About Enure Networks Enure Networks is the first company to develop a product capable of completely automating the entire broadband home network environment, from set up and configuration to managing connections and transparently fixing any problems, including anything from usual Internet access on through to policy enforcements. With Enure’s Service Shield™ product, consumers can come to use their home networks without the need to understand complex set up, configuration or repair processes, thereby allowing the home network to operate as reliably as any other home appliance, such as a refrigerator. With Enure’s advanced and optional TIC™ system, service providers can also provide seamless software/firmware updates for customer premise equipment with no user disruption. As well, combining TIC with Service Shield enables unprecedented insight to what fixes are happening, what root cause problems occurred, what inventory of equipment is in the home, right down to a single home, for proactive service problem resolution that might relate to a specific device or application. With patented technology that forever changes the home network environment, Enure enables the home networking market to finally realize its fullest potential by shielding consumers from any complexity of having a home network while allowing service providers to dramatically reduce the cost and user frustration associated with technical support. This sets up service providers and consumers to have the trust needed for acceptance and deployment of impending next generation broadband services. Enure Networks is a venture-backed company with funding from Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ and TASE: ELRN). The company is based in Israel with sales presences in the US and Europe. More information can be found online at www.enure.com. |