Link: CIO’s Perspective: A Strategic Approach to Radio Technology

The ubiquitous cellphone works well for most of us, most of the time. Occasionally we get a dropped call or two when coverage plummets, or the odd network outage means we can’t download emails or browse the internet. It’s frustrating, but rarely life-threatening.

Put yourself in the shoes of a police officer or utility worker in a hazardous situation or remote area and reliable coverage becomes much more than a nice-to-have—it’s an absolute necessity. It’s critical to be able to function properly and safety. That’s why it’s known as “critical communications”.

While a CIO wants to make sure the people they’re supporting have reliable radio communications, the idea of operating a stand-alone radio network may not be immediately attractive, particularly when all the other networks in their IT organization are IP-based. These are largely physically wired networks—Local Area Networks (LANs) connected by a Wide Area Network (WAN)—so they’re relatively straightforward to manage. But what about radio?

Well, radio technology has evolved significantly in the last few years. Today’s IP-based radio networks have much in common with modern IT systems and can increasingly interface with them. So it follows that there’s a host of benefits to be gained from managing them together.

See the full article here: Tait