Pakedge showcased the BakPak 3.0 at CEDIA Expo 2015 and found it captured the attention of many integrators. BakPak 3.0’s task and management automations increase networking efficiency, minimise errors, and increase profitability for integrators.

“BakPak’s intelligence empowers integrators with broader and deeper system control while allowing companies to save on labor overhead by simplifying and automating the more tedious maintenance and management processes,” said CEO of Pakedge Victor Pak.

“BakPak 3.0 monitors, alerts, assigns, maps, repairs, manages and reports. There’s not another remote management system like it,” adds Pak.

Intelligent Self-Healing

The cloud based remote management solution gives integrators end-to-end control from a distance with in-depth monitoring of network devices and control systems. BakPak does this with prioritised alerts, robust permission settings, automated network repair and mapping, easy configuration management, report logging, backup and restore functionality, and TriPlex – a unique troubleshooting system that determines the cause of the problem in case of a network outage or configuration error and suggests potential fixes.

Triplex is a built-in network diagnosis algorithm that works to find the source of network problems even in case of complete network outages. If the problem cannot be resolved through BakPak’s own self-healing functionality, TriPlex will report to the user the source of the problem on the network, allowing integrators to repair the issue or prevent it from occurring again. As it goes through these procedures it creates a log which is sent to users as part of a weekly report. The log is also useful to the integrator, because should BakPak be unable to restart the system and it becomes necessary to make an on-site visit, the integrator will have a list of procedures that were already attempted as well as the direct cause of and location of the problem in the network.

“It is intelligence that really sets BakPak apart from other cloud management systems,” said Dr. Marc Ilgen, Vice President of Software Development at Pakedge. “We’re trying to incorporate the same type of computational intelligence used in aerospace and intelligence industries and give it purpose for everyday uses. The best part about BakPak is that all of that all of this comprehensive tech is accessible in a really intuitive, clean, user-friendly interface.”

Smart, Actionable Alerts Intuitive Management and Maintenance Functions

Should BakPak’s built in self-healing features not be able to resolve a network failure, integrators can count on the intuitive alert system.

Unlike other remote management system, BakPak 3.0 does not send misleading alerts – it is intelligent enough to pinpoint which device failure caused the network to crash instead of inundating integrators with a string of “device failure” notifications that don’t help. It does this by validating all error alerts through situational-aware AI algorithms to provide accurate usable information to take action on. These useful alerts are sent via e-mail, SMS, or the BakPak app so the integrator can respond as necessary.

Devices and types of alerts can be prioritised by urgency. BakPak smart alerts group devices into one of five prioritisation categories based on their criticality to the network – with a separate category for wireless and IoT devices to prevent alerts from devices that go online and offline frequently.

Within BakPak’s device view and network map, profiles and devices are colour-coded to allow users to quickly and easily note the device’s status – green if everything is up-to-date and working, yellow if the device is working but needs an update, or red if the device is down and needs immediate attention.

Grouped device management makes keeping devices up-to-date easy. With BakPak, firmware updates for Pakedge devices can now be pushed across all devices across multiple sites with the click of a single button.

This means that if you use the same switch model at different sites for different customers you still only have to push the firmware once.

Power scheduling, power cycling, and power control on POE switches and PDUs can be managed as groups as well. Even system backups can be grouped – instead of backing up configurations on devices individually, you can back-up all the configurations for all the devices across the network at the same time with the click of a button. The configurations are then stored on the cloud for easy device replacement in case of failure. No additional setup or configuration required – simply swap out the affected unit and restore configurations from the cloud.

BakPak’s intelligence is not restricted solely to Pakedge devices. Intelligent device management and third party device integration is a core part of BakPak’s service offering – with greater support for more third party devices being added constantly. At launch, BakPak 3.0 boasts full compatibility and support for Control4, Crestron, Middle Atlantic and Panamax devices. Even for third party devices not natively supported within BakPak’s own interface, users can use BakPak to access the built-in GUI of any third party device on the network, allowing configuration and management from anywhere in the world.

 BakPak as a Business Model

The Pakedge BakPak was designed to save technology integrators time and money by eliminating tedious processes. Automatic device discovery and auto-mapping minimises setup time and simplifies troubleshooting in case of network problems. Group firmware updates and power control makes maintenance a breeze. Prioritised alerts, automatic self-healing, Triplex automated troubleshooting, and cloud managed backup and recovery help integrators bring peace of mind to their clients.

This peace of mind should be a selling point for dealers and integrators to begin offering managed services for which they can accrue recurring monthly revenue.

“So much is dependent on network integrity. Networks are truly the backbones of our modern spaces. With BakPak 3.0 integrators will be able to guarantee their clients peace of mind and also develop recurring revenue by charging modest monthly service fees. For too long integrators have undercharged for services,” said Pak.

His views are shared by Dawn Meade, AV Nation Board Member and Director of Marketing at Net-AV. Meade explained that margins on equipment sales all across the industry are razor-thin or non-existent thanks to commoditisation.

“For decades, integrators have been giving away their time and services to make money on the equipment,” say Meade. She explains that customers have been trained to expect cheap services and engineering and that something must change in order to change that mindset.

To answer that call to action Pakedge developed BakPak and offers it in three service tiers – Basic, Advanced, and Premier. The company hopes integrators will use as an example for developing managed services as a part of their businesses.

BakPak is part of the Pakedge Connect+ Platform, which is a carefully integrated system of switches, routers, wireless, power management and software technologies, designed specifically to work with each other to deliver seamless, scalable, and reliable multimedia networking performance.