Motorola investment gives a boost to a neat technology

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 26 April 2007 13:04

Opinion and Analysis

Logicalis was later sold to IBM which continues to represent Vocera in Australia. However the product has hardly taken the market by storm.

There had been little activity until earlier this year when Cisco released the results of a study of wireless communications in the emergency department of the Children's Hospital Westmead, Sydney. Cisco, Vocera, IBM, Dell and others donated equipment and expertise for the trial which saw The installation of 40 Cisco wireless access points, 40 Vocera hands-free communication badges, 10 Dell notebook computers on customised, battery-powered trolleys and six Dell handheld computers, which allowed clinicians wireless access from the patient bedside services.
IBM designed the installation, upgrade and integration of the Cisco wireless network and the Vocera Communications system.

An independent assessment of the trial, commissioned by Cisco, concluded that the Vocera voice communications and the wireless enable computers between them saved over 20 hours per day or 7,439 hours per year in patient treatment time in the emergency department. (Unfortunately the savings from the use of Vocera and the wireless computers were not separately identified.

When the results of the trial were announced I asked IBM why Vocera had not made greater progress. Concerns with the security of WiFi networks -very valid concerns a few years ago but now resolved - was one reason given and Vocera's limited resources as a small company another.

Hopefully the Motorola investment may make a difference: for a company that boasts as its motto 'seamless mobility' the Vocera technology would seem to be a good fit. As Reese Schroeder, managing director, Motorola Ventures, said: "Our investment demonstrates our commitment to innovative companies, such as Vocera, to drive seamless mobility into daily work environments."