Paradigm does recon at LandWarNet 2011
Paradigm has gone on a discovery mission at the LandWarNet conference in Tampa. It is seeking ways its defense technology -- used primarily in Europe -- could help the U.S. military.
Reconnaissance is a central function for much of the data that transfers over LandWarNet. It’s also one of the important jobs for companies and personnel attending the LandWarNet 2011 conference in Tampa Aug. 23-25.
That’s the tack being taken by representatives of Paradigm. The company has exhibited at the conference in the past, but this year, representatives are walking the floor and asking questions rather than manning a booth.
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“This is a trip of discovery for us. We’re looking to see if some of the applications we offer to the British Ministry of Defence and others in Europe are viable in the U.S.,” said Dylan Browne, marketing vice president for the Telecom Services Division of Astrium, Paradigm’s parent company.
Those services cover a broad range of areas that could be sold to the Defense Department through Paradigm’s established group of channel partners. One example is software developed in partnership with IBM. The two created Onyx, which uses telematics on vehicles to provide more insight into the supply chain.
“When vehicles in, say, Iraq or Afghanistan come back to the base, we download all telematics information, such as the fuel level. There’s a wealth of supply chain and maintenance information there. Some of it can be sent to headquarters, where they might decide to speed up or slow down deliveries of diesel fuel based on the amount that’s in fuel tanks,” Browne said.
Paradigm is also working on technologies that can help reduce some of the network overloading that now occurs more often than planners would like. The company has developed a program that examines what Browne calls the “freshness” of data.
Some information, like command and control data, needs to be fresh to have value. But lots of other data sent over networks could be sent whenever there’s available bandwidth. For example, files describing the washing list could be delayed with little effect.
Meanwhile, other services could migrate to the U.S. Paradigm handles sales of Wi-Fi and cell phone cards that let soldiers phone home or communicate using Skype or other networked communications. “The benefit of having a company like ours handle this is that we can route traffic securely, and we can also shut down traffic quickly if there are issues that warrant that,” Browne said.