Actix Launches Spotlight Workgroup Server For Efficient Management Of Complex Mobile Networks

Frees engineering time for innovative new work

London, 12 December 2007 - Actix, the leader in Network Status Management solutions or mobile operators, today announced the introduction of the Actix Spotlight Workgroup Server solution, a centralized system designed to help engineers quickly and efficiently act on network status information, which has been collected, processed and managed automatically. 

Forming part of the Actix One framework, a set of architectural software capabilities and principles combined to increase efficiency in radio access Network Status Management,  Spotlight Workgroup Server compliments Actix’ existing Spotlight product, a desktop solution which automatically detects and assesses potential network problems to deliver diagnosis and management reports. 

Automatic Server-based Processing

Spotlight Workgroup Server’s Actix One compatibility enables the automatic processing of drive test data into a centrally shared Spotlight project on a 24/7 basis, whenever new data files are submitted to a central landing zone without the need to re-import files for each new users. This frees up engineer’s time and computing resources that would normally be spent post-processing data locally, to focus on more useful engineering tasks.

Integration with Network Configuration Data Sources
oThe Workgroup Server platform can be configured to integrate with network configuration management systems and has the ability to track and store changes to network configuration over time. This enables Spotlight to analyze and present performance engineering information against the network configuration that was active at the time that information was collected.
•Survey Management Capabilities
oIn addition to processing drive test data, the Workgroup Server capability includes a number of features for efficiently archiving and managing drive test data that have been submitted to the system. Users can associate information such as ‘why data was collected’, ‘who collected it’ etc. with each submitted file and can then use that information along with other properties such as location, date and type to subsequently retrieve or drill-into selected data in more detail.
•Enterprise-wide Access to Shared Performance Engineering Information
oThe Workgroup Server platform allows Spotlight applications to be deployed in a Citrix environment for the first time, allowing engineers to access a shared central Spotlight project from anywhere within the enterprise. This simplifies the deployment and maintenance of the Spotlight software and promotes better sharing of information between engineers.

“Designed to support small workgroups of concurrent Spotlight users and to be accessible from anywhere within the enterprise, Spotlight Workgroup Server enables engineers to drive even more value from Spotlight’s troubleshooting and optimization features. And because it is based on  the Actix One principles, it provides a scalable, future-proof platform, which can be extended to serve other performance engineering needs such as automatic optimization, web-based audit and report, and engineering task prioritization and management,” commented Keith Reed, Actix’ Product Manager for Spotlight.

Spotlight Workgroup Server delivers a number of benefits to operators seeking engineering efficiency improvements and reduced operational expenditure; built-in automatic processing engines liberate engineers’ time to focus on other tasks by presenting them with actionable information sooner, and promoting the use of standardized processes. Meanwhile, access to a central shared database and archive improves visibility of information and means engineers can re-use available data immediately, without waiting for data to be reloaded to a desktop. Spotlight Workgroup Server also allows for several weeks of data to be stored and shared across multiple nodes.