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Motorola Solutions Introduces NX Integrated Services PlatformJan 19, 2012 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Motorola Solutions unveiled the NX Integrated Services Platform - including the NX 4500 and NX 6500 - to help retailers' with deployment and management of branch office networking and communications. The Company said this new branch office solution allows retailers to elevate the customer experience while reducing the burden for IT staff. Retail associates can now have mobile access to voice, data and applications, all delivered by a single platform. Retailers are challenged with managing complex interactions with today's connected consumers, to build a consistent brand experience in-store, online and with mobile commerce. Increasing use of mobile devices along with bandwidth-heavy mobile applications, both by retail associates and shoppers, requires IT infrastructure that supports today's needs with the flexibility to evolve for tomorrow. According to a release, Motorola also launched the Proximity Awareness and Analytics Solution, further advancing retailers' abilities to offer personalized customer service. This solution brings real-time data collection, analysis and visualization to Motorola's WLAN portfolio. It enables real-time mobility-based loyalty programs and delivers actionable data for improving the effectiveness of store operations, enhancing customer engagement and conversion. NX Integrated Services Platform features, as described by the Company, include: -The NX Integrated Services Platform delivers network extensibility and is designed to meet the needs of the enterprise with both the NX 4500 for small-medium branch offices and the NX 6500 for medium-large branch offices. -The modular platform will enable retailers to reduce telecommunications costs with SIP trunking while still leveraging existing phones and wiring. Initial modules include a wired switch, wireless LAN controller, branch voice over IP (VoIP) communications, radio link for push-to-talk interoperability with two-way radios, text messaging and mobile extension of the PBX to WLAN and cellular. -The NX platform supports all of Motorola's Total Enterprise Access and Mobility (TEAM) voice solutions, bringing telephony to mobile computers and wireless local area network (WLAN) phones. With NX and TEAM, customers can reach the right associate the first time, reducing call abandonment and hold times and increasing sales. Managers can spend more time on the sales floor and still be accessible. -Capital expenditures can be cut by up to 50 percent by eliminating the need to purchase or upgrade appliances. This solution only requires a single platform to address the security, wired, wireless, VoIP communications and enterprise applications for a branch office, thereby eliminating 75 percent of appliances. It also provides a way to oversee and manage services in a geographically distributed enterprise. -The platform is designed as an open, virtualized system that allows network and application extensibility depending upon the needs of the enterprise. It allows retailers to add functionality later when additional services are introduced, eliminating the need for individual servers for each new application. -Available in April 2012, the NX Integrated Services Platform is being demonstrated at NRF with Scopix's Real.Suite video analytics software integrated on the platform to help retailers monitor, measure and manage the in-store customer experience. The Company noted that the Motorola Proximity Awareness and Analytics Solution includes: -The Motorola Proximity Awareness and Analytics Solution is driven by a software application which uses analytics to enable real-time engagement based on information collected from WLAN infrastructure. -The solution enables retail applications such as real-time mobile offers for shoppers who opt-in, a virtual call box, and location-aware task management. -By combining data collected from all deployed access point (AP) radios, this new Motorola software application provides users with actionable customer location information to allow more effective engagement as customers navigate through the store. -The solution includes a analytics package, allowing data from the system to be directly used in business intelligence systems. These customer and associate analytics are designed to drive next generation retail decision making. -It also incorporates an open API architecture allowing third-party applications to use the analytical data gathered from the system. This creates a vendor-agnostic environment supporting a location-based services ecosystem with the Motorola WLAN portfolio. Existing Motorola WiNG 5 wireless customers can use the new functionality simply by activating a software license. -Available now, the Motorola Proximity Awareness and Analytics Solution is also featured at NRF as part of a demonstration showing how presence and rule-based push can be used to identify and engage customers on their mobile phones. Imran Akbar, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Networks & Communications, Motorola Solutions. said, "With consumers becoming even more connected, there is a tremendous opportunity for retailers to deploy mobile applications that will help drive customer loyalty while helping store associates respond to connected shoppers. Customers and independent software vendors can run their applications on this open platform which is designed for modularity and virtualization. While budgets are tight, retailers should not have to add a lot of new hardware and systems along with more complexity and cost to keep up with new technology demands. Retailers are demanding simple, integrated, cost-effective services platforms like the NX Series." Todd Nightingale, general manager, AirDefense Solutions, Motorola Solutions, said, "Helping retailers drive customer engagement with the most advanced technologies remains a key priority for Motorola Solutions. Wi-Fi-based, location-driven information provides a more compelling alternative for indoor environments where GPS-based positioning solutions cannot provide the level of detail required. Our Proximity Awareness and Analytics Solution delivers a new level of functionality for customers who can now benefit from the security, network assurance, advanced management and new proximity awareness capabilities of our centralized services platform." Craig Mathias, principal, Farpoint Group, said, "Retailers are looking for ways to simplify their network while being able to easily deploy mobility applications now and in the future. Motorola Solutions is answering that need by enabling retailers to integrate all their communication solutions into one platform with a single network management view." Motorola Solutions is a provider of mission-critical communication products and services for enterprise and government customers. More information: www.motorolasolutions.com ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) |