Africa

Americas

by CIO Staff

Qualcomm Buys IT Monitoring and Mgmt Vendor nPhase

News
Nov 16, 2006 2 mins
Outsourcing

Wireless technologies developer Qualcomm has acquired nPhase, a provider of “machine-to-machine” technology that helps large businesses manage and monitor dispersed computing devices, Qualcomm announced Thursday.

Qualcomm did not disclose the price it paid for nPhase, based in Chicago.

Machine-to-machine telemetry is an evolving category of products that help interconnect machines with IT infrastructure and mobile workforces. Machine-to-machine products and services allow large businesses to manage and monitor fixed machine assets, such as cellular towers, gas pipelines and assembly line robotics, and mobile assets, such as truck fleets, heavy equipment and transportation, Qualcomm said in a release.

The fixed-asset machine-to-machine technology provided by nPhase complements Qualcomm’s offerings in the mobile machine-to-machine market, Qualcomm said.

The acquisition “clearly shows our belief in this evolving industry,” Joan Waltman, president of Qualcomm Wireless Business Solutions, said in a statement. The acquisition is “a gateway to a new area of wireless communications and machine intelligence,” she added.

Machine-to-machine products and services can help businesses improve performance and service quality, Qualcomm said. Users can receive alerts regarding critical situations, and control situations on their dispersed infrastructure through a computer or mobile computing device.

Qualcomm has focused on machine-to-machine technology since 1991, when it introduced the first wide-area, wireless, machine-to-machine applications called OmniTracs, the company’s first mobile communication system for transportation fleet management.

Qualcomm will continue to offer products and services under the nPhase brand. NPhase was spun out of Professional Consulting Services, a 13-year-old IT consulting firm, in 2003.

-Grant Gross, IDG News Service (Washington Bureau)

Related Link:

  • Qualcomm Makes Headway in Europe and Against Nokia

Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage.