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MORGAN HILL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 09, 2001-- Addressing the $175 billion lost to corporate inefficiency each year, AirSpeak today announced the official launch of the company and its wireless technology that will increase worker productivity for millions of PC users across the country. Tapping into the near mobile marketplace -- those workers who spend up to three hours each day away from their desks in information darkness -- AirSpeak will connect workers to their PC wirelessly, creating instant, complete access to all their information, email and the Internet while they are away from their primary workstations. AirSpeak's PC Access (PCA) product will launch at the Networld + Interop tradeshow in May, giving the company an eighteen-month lead over its competition.
``Increasing productivity while positively impacting the bottom line is a challenge that many companies face,'' said Sam Williams, CEO and co-founder, AirSpeak, Inc. ``Our first product offers a technology that will enable companies to save millions of dollars in productivity loss every year while increasing effectiveness,'' Williams added.
The flagship product in AirSpeak's drive to improve productivity is its wireless device launching in May. The product is a lightweight device that performs all the functions of a PC without burdensome wires and dial-up requirements or the frustrations of booting and syncing that come with a laptop. The device allows for access and interaction with a user's PC making the experience indistinguishable from sitting at the user's desk. The patent-pending technology, enabled by wireless standard 802.11, offers enterprises instant wireless access to PC information from anywhere within the company's wired network facilities.
Market Demand
AirSpeak is tapping the near mobile marketplace -- workers who spend 80% of their time at their campus workplace but up to three hours a day away from their primary computer station. This lack of instant access to information delays decision-making and causes misinformation costing companies millions of dollars a year in worker inefficiencies. In a recent study conducted by Survey.com, the average near mobile user costs their employer a minimum of $5,000 a year in lost productivity because the employee cannot access valuable PC information at work when it is needed, and $30,000 a year when the employee's impact on others is considered.
AirSpeak's first product is being built to provide true value and benefits in a wireless environment, giving companies a quick return on their investment.
``We've looked carefully at the market need for a device that doesn't replace the PC, but extends its use to all parts of an office or corporate campus,'' said Glenn Perkins, Vice President of Business Development, AirSpeak. ``As campus and enterprise mobility continue to expand, access to information will become more important than ever. At AirSpeak, we have designed a unique solution to this growing demand,'' Perkins added.
Corporate Strategy
AirSpeak's business plan lays out a three-part strategy over the next two years. Using its patent pending technology, AirSpeak will deliver at least two PC Access products in the next six months. Comstor, a Cisco-focused channel provider of networking technology products, will distribute AirSpeak's first product to its solution provider customers. ``AirSpeak's product offers a new level of productivity for a class of user that has previously gone undefined, only because a technology to accommodate them hasn't existed before,'' said Tom Dolan, president and CEO of Westcon Group (the parent company of Comstor). ``We recognize the possibilities this holds for the marketplace, and we're working to turn it into new business opportunities for our customers.''
AirSpeak is also leveraging other distribution partnerships to begin penetrating the near mobile market sector. In talks with several partners now, AirSpeak will launch its OEM strategy in fall 2001. By the end of 2002, AirSpeak plans to take its first product to the mass-market.
AirSpeak was co-founded in late 1999 by Chuck Robinson and Sam Williams. Robinson was a founder and served as Vice President of Operations at Clarity Software. Williams co-founded and served as vice president of manufacturing for InSolutions and was one of the first 300 employees at Sun Microsystems. Other members of the executive team bring a wide range of wireless technology, marketing, software engineering and manufacturing experience from companies such as Cadence Design, Barco, , Compaq Computer, Sigma Circuits, Clarity Software, Hewlett Packard, Northrop Grumman, Westinghouse, Bendix (Allied Signal), and Deutsche Telekom. In addition, chief technical officer Dr. Migdat Hodzic holds several U.S. patents in the field of wireless communications and networks.
The company currently employs 25 people and is based in Morgan Hill, California. For more information, please see www.airspeak.com.
About AirSpeak
AirSpeak Inc. provides innovative mobile solutions and data access software for the corporate enterprise. Based in Silicon Valley, AirSpeak is focused on serving the untapped near mobile marketplace. By delivering single solution wireless products, AirSpeak is helping companies be more profitable by providing employees with complete access to their PC remotely in an easy, safe, and efficient manner. For more information, go to www.airspeak.com.
Access Communications
Brandon McCormick, 415/844-6218
bmccormick@accesspr.com
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