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June 20, 2007

Apprion Launches Next Gen ION System

By Anuradha Shukla
TMCnet Contributing Editor

Apprion has unveiled the next generation of its ION System for industrial application networking.

As a comprehensive industrial wireless application networking system, Apprion’s ION System provides a truly open, scalable, and extensible foundation to manage multi-vendor wireless devices and applications.

The new version of the ION System delivers improved security, management and integration capabilities to address the challenges of the evolving process manufacturing environment.

Apprion ION System can cost-effectively design, deploy and manage wireless-enabled applications in a unified system that is more secure, more reliable and easier to extend in the future as technologies evolve and new applications become available.

The updated ION System consists of the Apprion IONosphere and IONizers. The IONosphere is an on-site controller with enhanced features and functionality to automatically bring devices, systems and applications under management. This ensures improved network performance, security, and reliability.

Apprion’s IONizer is a wireless networking appliance designed for the process industry. IONizers can cost-effectively integrate and secure previously disparate wireless-enabled applications, such as VoIP

and condition monitoring.

Leveraging the security enhancements to both components of the ION System, administrators can easily bring legitimate devices and systems under unified management.

ION also delivers an interface that gives users perspective from both a geospatial and relational framework. Since this interface makes photographs, maps, or CAD drawings available via a web-based portal, users can record and use information in the form that is most appropriate for their operational responsibilities.

“LCRA is looking forward to the new version of ION. We have already seen a steady improvement in communications through our use of the ION System that allows us to be more efficient and responsive -- for a power plant that can mean the difference between keeping things running and costly downtime or outages,” said David Runkle, production manager at LCRA's Lost Pines Power Park in a statement to the press.

He continued: “As we expand our use of the ION System, we anticipate adding future applications so LCRA can continue to improve our field workers' processes, increase business productivity, reduce costs and advance customer service -- in short, keep the lights on.”

According to Harry Forbes, senior analyst at ARC Advisory Group, process manufacturers know that their wireless operations require multiple technologies, suppliers, and applications.

Forbes said that companies like LCRA are using the ION System to create a flexible, expandable and secure infrastructure that will support both their existing and future wireless applications.

Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

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