CTO & Co-Founder
Sunnyvale - CA United States
The big idea: In 25 words or less, please tell us how this Fast 50 Nominee is helping to address the planet's problems.
Olson has the courage to disrupt conventional thinking, bringing innovative mobile convergence directly to enterprises instead of letting enterprises continue to wait for carrier offerings.
Please describe how this nominee is using business as a force of positive change. What technology, idea, or strategy is the nominee using -- and what problem, such as global warming, poverty, or pollution, does it address? (suggested length: 100 words)
Olson’s strategy is to not let slow moving mobile carriers crush innovation. He has taken this to heart at Agito Networks, resulting in positive change with the delivery of a technology solution he and the company are using to solve the long-standing industry problem of lack of enterprise fixed mobile convergence (eFMC). eFMC addresses the common challenges of poor quality of mobile calls, information loss, and productivity loss for the world’s ever-growing mobile society. IDC estimates that more than 30 percent of knowledge workers worldwide rely on their mobile phone as their primary business phone, so the opportunity for positive change is significant.
With more of today’s society mobilizing, businesses are struggling to meet a new set of problems, which Olson uses his new technology to uniquely addresses. These global problems include poor in-building wireless coverage, skyrocketing cellular costs, and lack of integration between business systems and mobile devices.
Before his invention, conventional thinking always said that innovations in the mobile world were delivered to businesses from the carriers. Following this common thinking, numerous companies tried to deliver solutions that required enterprises to integrate with the cellular carrier, an approach that presents security and operational challenges, and those companies have categorically failed. Companies such as Bridgeport, Longboard, and Azaire were unable to move the carriers to deliver their solutions for the FMC market. Standards such as UMA and IMS were touted to deliver on the FMC promise, and have subsequently failed to deliver a viable solution for enterprise needs.
But utilizing his diverse background in cellular, WiFi (802.11 Wireless LANs), locationing, and VoIP/IP telephony, Olson has created a unique application of WiFi/RF algorithms and location technology that he delivers directly to enterprises to keep their mobile users connected and productive. The key to Olson’s innovation is that it is cellular carrier, wireless infrastructure and telephony equipment independent. Olson’s technology, delivered in the Agito Networks RoamAnywhere Mobility Router, works with all carrier and leading enterprise equipment, letting customers keep their current cellular providers and enterprise wireless and telephony equipment investments.
Olson’s patent-pending innovations ensure that mobile wireless calls in the building stay on the “free” enterprise WLAN to reduce cellular minutes and expenses. Leveraging WiFi also improves in-building coverage, eliminating dropped or poor quality cellular calls due to poor cellular coverage indoors. Additionally, adding location awareness to mobile communications and eFMC adds the benefit of allowing mobile users to manage their own personal availability based on where they are located. Users now are not only more accessible when they need to be but they can also automatically control that accessibility when they are at home, at work or on the road. As a result, Olson has given the IT community its first location-aware solution for mobile convergence that intelligently routes users to the best wireless network available based on their current location. He is using his technology in the RoamAnywhere Mobility Router to address these common enterprise mobility problems facing workers every day.
What are the results, both financial and social? How has the nominee's business performed, and what impact has it had on the problem it addresses? (suggested length: 100 words)
Olson’s innovation automatically blends in-building wireless with cellular networks. As a result, businesses offer low-cost, better in-building coverage than cellular; save up to 70% off cellular charges; and integrate mobile phones with enterprise systems, like PBXes, for better communication.
Olson’s business has rapidly growing industry and customer traction. His innovation is a business enabler for wireless LANs, PBXes and mobile devices/smart phones that needed an invention to tie them all together.
Socially, Olson’s innovation is more readily connecting a mobile business society when and where they need connectivity. Users can be more easily reached, and are more in touch.
