Case: Mentura Group

Meet Sami Honkaniemi from Mentura Group and learn how Airbus' SmarTWISP application developer programme can help grow their business.

License to Innovate

Technology is one thing, but the real momentum in the critical communications market comes from a renewed, revitalized approach to information. This means that the infrastructure supporting information management must be in excellent form, says CVO Sami Honkaniemi from Espoo-based Mentura Group.

“We must be able to control the information. While previously customers were concerned with issues such as broadband access, now the focus has clearly shifted.”

According to Honkaniemi, in the minds of the customer companies there are two, sometimes conflicting, agendas. Number one: when making forays into new critical comms tech, you must avoid all risks. Number two: new solutions bring new opportunities – and everybody wants a piece of that cake. The way to pull it off? - You must monitor and manage both the risk and the opportunity, Honkaniemi believes.

“Some customers are really keen on the technological aspects and some are only starting to learn. Whatever barriers emerge, they can be negotiated effectively, end-to-end.”

Making Moves

Mentura Group makes advanced software solutions which help authorities, first responders and professional organizations to get more out of their critical communications. The entire Coremote product family (Controlled Moves for Critical Operations) is all about making sure that Mentura’s customers are able to manage their operations reliably and efficiently using Critical Communications Networks.

“We have a long history of cooperation with Airbus and are very excited about the introduction of SmarTWISP,” Honkaniemi says. Taking a real breakthrough product such as Tactilon Dabat and building an ecosystem around it seems like the winning ticket here:

“The hybrid model where you put together smartphone and TETRA is a solid concept which yields many benefits,” he says, adding that the “Hybrid Era” may prove to be a long one.

“From our viewpoint, this makes it possible to come up with more versatile solutions for critical communications. New, smart applications are very much in demand by the customers and we expect that there will be great opportunities in this area.”

You’ll Never Walk Alone

Honkaniemi discusses the importance of having “broad shoulders”, which means, in the case of SmarTWISP, that there’s strength in numbers. The critical communications market has its silos and trenches and it’s not always easy to seek common ground: but with SmarTWISP, there’s a real chance of making it happen.

“Working together, we’re able to diversify the supply considerably – and there will be a whole new dimension of innovation available,” Honkaniemi envisions.

“Then we have issues such as cyber and enterprise security that require special attention. I don’t expect that we will see radical changes in that area, but certain upgrades are needed as the needs of the customers keep evolving,” he says. A big part in all of this is holding onto the ever-reliable TETRA which goes a long way to ensure proper security.

Extra Edge

Talking about making applications for Tactilon Dabat, Honkaniemi says that some solutions are a great fit almost instantly, while others need some tinkering to make it work.

“With little finetuning, we can introduce smarter solutions for Tactilon Dabat, taking full advantage of the hybrid environment.”