Azimuth Systems, Inc Formed to Deliver Wi-Fi Test Platforms, Lands $12.9 Mil Funding.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers ACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 10, 2003 Top Notch Team Unites to Validate the Real-World Performance, Scalability and Compatibility of Wireless Devices and Networks; Attracts Leading Wireless Vendors as First Customers. Azimuth azimuth (ăz`əməth), in astronomy, one coordinate in the altazimuth coordinate system. It is the angular distance of a body measured westward along the celestial horizon from the observer's south point. (TM) Systems, Inc., innovators in scalable, automated wireless network test platforms, today announced its formation and entry into the wireless data communications data communications, application of telecommunications technology to the problem of transmitting data, especially to, from, or between computers. In popular usage, it is said that data communications make it possible for one computer to "talk" with another. performance validation market, a segment of the wireless industry that is currently substantially underserved. Azimuth Systems has received a total of $12.9 million in preliminary and second round capital from North Bridge Venture Partners and Kodiak Venture Partners to fund the development and delivery of a new generation of products to definitively validate the functionality, interoperability The capability of two or more hardware devices or two or more software routines to work harmoniously together. For example, in an Ethernet network, display adapters, hubs, switches and routers from different vendors must conform to the Ethernet standard and interoperate with each other. and performance of wireless devices and networks. Azimuth's initial target segment is the rapidly growing Wi-Fi (802.11) market. Azimuth has also announced Symbol Technologies, a recognized leader in mission critical, wireless networking See wireless network. solutions, as one of several initial customers. Azimuth has succeeded in attracting several significant leaders in the Wi-Fi enterprise market amongst its first customers. The success is an indication of both the market vacuum for wireless network test platforms and Azimuth's product development success. "Azimuth was created to fill the market vacuum for a test platform that can validate real world performance of wireless networks and devices in a laboratory," noted Azimuth CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Ray Cronin. "Our W-Series Platform allows Wi-Fi vendors to efficiently test their products to specified limits and beyond which will reduce test costs while enabling increased performance. Our solution changes the rules of 802.11 test and we are pleased that industry leaders, like Symbol Technologies, are Azimuth customers." Analysts agree that Wi-Fi is rapidly evolving into new generations of wireless solutions capable of supporting the truly un-tethered enterprise, and the commercial migration of mission critical applications as well as an array of new consumer home entertainment applications. Aaron Vance of Synergy Research notes: "Current wireless applications represent only the tip of the iceberg tip of the iceberg n. pl. tips of the iceberg A small evident part or aspect of something largely hidden: afraid that these few reported cases of the disease might only be the tip of the iceberg. . The march toward wireless adoption in the enterprise and new consumer markets has been slow in that users and vendors could not accurately validate, refine, and plan to the technology's real world performance. Therefore, it's not surprising that several of the industry's largest players are turning to Azimuth. Furthermore, SRG SRG In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Suriname Guilder. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. expects to see Azimuth's target market continue to grow as wireless technologies are developed for a wide range of home, business, and industrial uses." Based on its market traction, Azimuth has received a total of $12.9 million in funding from Kodiak Venture Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners, who rank among the industry's most respected and successful venture capital firms Name Location Founding date Managing Partners/Directors Specialty Capital managed 5AM Ventures Menlo Park, CA; Waltham, MA 2002 John Diekman, PhD (managing partner), Scott Rocklage, PhD (managing partner), Andrew Schwab (managing partner) life sciences $200M [1] . Based on Azimuth's rapid and successful development and customer progress, Kodiak and North Bridge chose to keep the company's second round of $7.1 million in-house rather than open it to outside investors, an unusual vote of confidence in the Azimuth team in today's venture funding market. "Azimuth is the first to market with a platform that can test 802.11 networks as a system," said Rich Redelfs, former CEO and President of Atheros Communications and a member of the Azimuth Board of Directors. "Azimuth has an opportunity to accelerate broad enterprise deployment of wireless LANs A local area network that transmits over the air typically in the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz unlicensed frequency band. It does not require line of sight between sender and receiver. Wireless base stations (access points) are wired to an Ethernet network and transmit a radio frequency over an area by adding confidence in the systems scalability. The cost, capability and time associated with testing have been a bottleneck A lessening of throughput. It often refers to networks that are overloaded, which is caused by the inability of the hardware and transmission lines to support the traffic. It can also refer to a mismatch inside the computer where slower-speed peripheral buses and devices prevent the CPU in the industry. Azimuth has gone a long way to removing that roadblock, and has gained incredible early customer traction as a result." Top Industry Talent Positions Azimuth for Market Leadership Founded by Fanny Mlinarsky, formerly of Agilent and Scope Communications, Azimuth is led by CEO Ray Cronin who has a rich history in the test and measurement industry. The team includes John Griesing, (formerly 3Com) as VP Engineering, Graham Celine (formerly Avaya) as VP Marketing, Roger Westberg (formerly Zayante) as VP Sales and Jim Grasso as VP Operations. The team is backed by a well known, experienced and influential Board of Directors and Board of Advisors. About Azimuth Azimuth Systems, based in Acton, Massachusetts Acton is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States about twenty-one miles west-northwest of Boston along Route 2 west of Concord and about eleven miles (18 km) southwest of Lowell. The population was 20,331 at the 2000 census. is an innovator in wireless data communications test solutions that test the functionality, interoperability and performance of wireless devices and networks. Azimuth is backed by North Bridge Venture Partners and Kodiak Venture Partners and is a leader in defining widely accepted wireless data communications performance metrics Performance metrics are measures of an organizations activities and performance. Performance metrics should support a range of stakeholder needs from customers, shareholders to employees [1]. and test methodologies. (www.azimuthsystems.com) |
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