4/25/2012

Xirrus Partners with Stoneware to Bring Control to the Classroom

Georgia's Top School District Stays Ahead of the Class Providing Reliable, Secure, and Economical Wi-Fi Solutions for 1:1 and BYOD Initiatives

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – April 24, 2012 – – Xirrus, the leading provider of high-performance wireless networks, today announced a partnership with Stoneware, the leading provider of web-based IT delivery solutions, to deliver best-in-class education management and monitoring solutions. Educators no longer need to guess what is on students' screens. By deploying Xirrus high-performance Wireless Arrays and Stoneware's award-winning LanSchool product, teachers can have direct access and control of student devices – better improving the effectiveness of 1:1 and BYOD initiatives.

Empower Teachers While Integrating Tools Students Use Today
With the rapid deployment of smart devices into the learning curriculum of schools, there is a critical need for teachers to have control of computing devices while in the classrooms. LanSchool is the first network-based classroom management solution that enables teachers to utilize and control the access to data by mobile devices used by students in the classroom. It equips teachers to manage individual devices within the classroom, and, as students' access log-in portals, it enables teachers to view and control student devices from a master computer. The partnership between Xirrus and Stoneware allows for optimum levels of classroom management beyond those of traditional wireless offerings.

• Wireless Foundation – Xirrus delivers the capacity and bandwidth needed to ensure reliable access for dozens of mobile devices teachers and students bring into the classroom.
• Classroom Management – LanSchool allows teachers to manage individual devices within their classrooms.
• Monitoring and Control – Capabilities include monitoring student devices, remotely blanking student screens, enabling screen-sharing, and remotely powering-down individual devices.
• Point-to-Point Communication – Teachers and students can engage in two-way device communication within the classroom.

"With our aggressive 1:1 initiative plans and BYOD policies, we needed a wireless network capable of supporting the devices that inundate our infrastructure," said Karl Buchanan, technology director of Wasatch County School District. "After extensive research, we selected Xirrus Wireless Arrays and the Stoneware LanSchool platform as the most effective solution for seamlessly supporting our bandwidth demands and classroom management needs. Since deployment, we've successfully managed all classrooms throughout our school districts with substantially less equipment than would be required with other providers."

With students increasingly using their own laptops, tablets and smartphones in the classroom, LanSchool software allows teachers to authenticate users and monitor their data access. The integrated captive portal supports the direct access and control from a Xirrus Array to Stoneware for automated LanSchool student downloads.

"After a comprehensive implementation, Xirrus' equipment and the LanSchool software operated as anticipated and promised," continued Buchanan. "Not only are we thoroughly covered with our wireless access, but the entire school district can now push forward with its focus on 1:1 initiatives for all students, which will enhance learning for all involved. We're very pleased with our decision to select Xirrus and Stoneware."

"This partnership exemplifies Xirrus' continued efforts to deliver industry-leading wireless solutions for K-12 and higher education campuses internationally. We're extremely pleased to be working together with Stoneware to provide a truly differentiated solution that can make a difference for students and teachers alike," said Perry Correll, director of Product Marketing of Xirrus.

About Xirrus, Inc.
Xirrus is the leading provider of high-performance wireless networks. Xirrus solutions perform under the most demanding circumstances, offering consistent "wired-like" performance with superior coverage and security. The Xirrus suite of WI-FI optimized solutions -- Arrays, access points, cloud services, and wired switches -- provide seamless connectivity and unified management across the network. Xirrus provides a vital strategic business and IT infrastructure advantage to industries that depend on wireless to operate business-critical applications. With tens of thousands of customer solutions deployed globally, Xirrus maintains operations and partnerships across the globe. Xirrus is a privately held company and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, CA. For more information please visit: www.xirrus.com and follow us on Twitter: @Xirrus.

Xirrus and XMS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Xirrus. Other trade names used in this document are or may be the property of their respective owners.

Media Contacts:
Ross Perich
Trainer Communications
(925) 271-8218
xirrus@trainercomm.com