The Value of Cisco Compatibility in Healthcare

By KRISTA GIFFORD
Published: March 31, 2008

How many times have you been in a healthcare setting and noticed an employee using a handheld computer or smartphone? In recent years, the use of wireless devices in hospitals and clinics has become commonplace—healthcare is the leading industry in terms of the adoption of wireless applications and technologies, and it also has the most dramatic growth in the use of remote access Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and telecommuting. According to a recent Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) survey, more than 80% of healthcare providers have reported using mobile wireless devices. This number will only increase as mobile healthcare providers continue to require 24-hour access to vital information and systems.

As the healthcare industry expands its interest in wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi®, VoIP, real-time locationing and monitoring, RFID for asset tracking, and mobile computers and scanners; having a reliable, consistent network connection is paramount when it comes to the usability of wireless Application Specific Devices (ASDs) like handheld computers and printers. Since many healthcare facilities use ASDs to run applications that can fail without constant network access, having an unreliable Wi-Fi connection leads to unreliable device operation. This, in turn, results in reluctance to use the devices.

CCX in a Nutshell

Nearly two-thirds of enterprise wireless LAN (WLAN) infrastructures today use Cisco products, including those implemented in hospitals. When deciding on an ASD, many hospitals will look specifically for equipment with the Cisco Compatible logo, even if they don’t currently implement Cisco protocols. The Cisco Compatible logo provides hospitals and businesses with an extra measure of confidence about a device’s Cisco compatibility—there’s no guesswork involved. The Cisco Compatible logo also ensures support for innovative features pioneered by Cisco including security, mobility, performance, quality of service (QoS), and network management as well as interoperability with Cisco WLAN infrastructure products. An ASD earns the Cisco Compatible designation through a program called Cisco Compatible Extensions, or CCX.

The CCX program provides WLAN client suppliers with Cisco WLAN technology and innovation in a specification. The CCX specification is more than Cisco proprietary technology; it is actually a superset of the specification used for Wi-Fi compliance. An ASD cannot be certified as Cisco Compatible unless that device or the WLAN radio that it uses is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ by an industry association called the Wi-Fi Alliance®. The ASD must also implement all features of the defined specification and undergo extensive compliance testing at an independent third-party laboratory. After passing all the required tests, the device receives the Cisco Compatible logo, giving healthcare and other business IT managers peace of mind in knowing that they can confidently deploy WLANs that serve a variety of client devices.

Socket Mobile Delivers Cisco Compatibility

Today, Socket Mobile has three products on the market that have earned Cisco CCX 4.0 certification for ASDs: the SoMo™ 650 handheld computer, the Go Wi-Fi!® P500 CompactFlash (CF) Card and the Go Wi-Fi! P700 embedded radio module—all of which utilize the Socket Mobile proprietary WLAN software, Enhanced Wi-Fi® Companion™ (e-WFC).

By integrating CCX into our platform, we are able to directly address the challenges our customers face in terms of security, interoperability and scalability regardless of their size or industry. Our products support tiered levels of wireless data security methods as well as Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM), a standard for QoS and Cisco roaming enhancements using the Cisco Centralized Key Management (CCKM) protocol, making them ideal for interference-sensitive applications.

On the OEM side of the coin, e-WFC with CCX continues the long tradition of Socket Mobile providing the business mobility industry with open systems software, enabling third-party OEM customers to embed our WLAN modules in their products and reap the benefits of CCX 4.0 certification. OEM customers worldwide can quickly and easily obtain the latest in Wi-Fi hardware and software certifications, take advantage of broad industry accepted standards, and improve the positioning of their products for adoption into complex corporate infrastructures.

For more information on Enhanced Wi-Fi Companion and Cisco CCX certification, please read our white paper: http://www.socketmobile.com/pdf/techbrief/e-WFC_white-paper.pdf