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Virtual Realities
Led by CEO Joe Rhem, who
founded unified communications com-
pany Star2Star in the early 2000s after
years working as a principal architect
of wireless technologies at Computer
Associates, WiredIQ provides an im-
pressive array of managed IT and
communications services all controlled
from a single intelligent edge appliance,
dubbed the Brain Box, which connects
the customer premises to the cloud via
multiple broadband points.
Presenting at the recent CVx and IT
EXPO event in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
Rhem’s demo of the Brain Box started
with the all-important discussion of se-
curity issues.
During his years at CA and Star-
2Star, Rhem noted how SMBs and
distributed enterprises that lacked
large IT departments struggled with
ever-evolving network security threats,
including compliance of PCI and
HIPAA. The recent changes brought by
PCI 3.0, for instance, require all types
of monitoring, testing and audits that,
quite frankly, put lots of organizations
out of compliance or at risk of being
liable. The Brian Box offers a hybrid
approach to managed network secu-
rity, combining the functionality of an
edge device and the power of cloud.
The result is template-driven security
the can be managed across multiple
sites, including designating authority
and keeping an audit trail across dis-
tributed location – new requirements
under PCI 3.0.
“Security as a service also gives
you the benefit of a turnkey solution
that’s been pre-configured for your type
of industry,” said Rhem.
From one big buzz segment to the
next, the Brain Box takes the same
hybrid approach to providing software-
defined networking. It supports three
different WAN connections – one of
which can be cellular for a back-up
broadband connection – allows for
public, private or split tunnel VPNs and
the prioritizing of traffic, while any WAN
connection can be designated as a
passive or active automatic failover for
any other WAN connection.
Then there’s telecom edge man-
agement. In addition to communica-
tions services offered by WiredIQ,
such as SIP trunking and UCaaS
(powered by Star2Star), the Brain Box
can monitor existing phone systems.
What’s more, the Brain Box allows a
local phone system repair company
to essentially access a customer’s
phone system from their own facility to
execute MACDs without rolling a truck,
saving the end user money.
But wait, there’s more. Within the
appliance are also several types of
backup, along with automatic failover,
for a complete business continuity solu-
tion. WiredIQ’s appliance also handles
IP-based premises security, to deal
with those alarms that used to run on
the POTS line; video surveillance, so
all security, across numerous locations,
can be managed on one interface; and
device management, for the sprawling
bits of hardware. The Brain Box solu-
tion can even control lights and AC
across disparate locations.
WiredIQ works exclusively through
the channel, offering resellers and
white labelers with a healthy pie of re-
curring revenue services (about $2,300
per 20-person office) on top of device
sales. Sounds pretty smart.
o
A Brain in a Box
S
mart edge devices are increasingly important
to increasingly complex enterprise LANs
and WANs, and one would be hard pressed
to find a smarter edge appliance (or a cooler-looking
box) than the new Brain Box by WiredIQ.
WiredIQ’s high IQ edge device
Channel
Vision
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March - April, 2017
12
WiredIQ Monthly Recurring
Estimates, 20-Person Office
Voice
$200
Bandwidth
$150
SD-WAN router, firewall, SDN
$200
Surveillance
$50
Burglar alarm
$35
Light & building control
$50
Device IT management (Apple, PC)
$1,000
Back-up/Recovery
$300
Source: WiredIQ