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 backup 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 minimizes setup time and simplifies troubleshooting in case of network problems. Group firmware updates and power control makes maintenance a breeze. Prioritized 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 dependant 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 commoditization.
“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.
To kick off the launch of the new revamped BakPak 3.0 Pakedge announced that it would be offering the complete suite of features – Premier level services – for FREE until Sept. 30th. Pak says that he hopes this will give integrators the opportunity to experiment with the new features and decide which service level would suits their client’s needs. He added that after the free trial ends Pakedge will be offering a significant discount on the first year of Advanced or Premier sub-sections. The Basic service model is free and does not require a subscription.
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.
