Nuage Nine Launches Managed Services for CE Pros

How would you like to simultaneously reduce service truck rolls, enable faster and more efficient service calls, generate recurring revenue and increase customer satisfaction?

You can do that with a new solution from Nuage Nine, which joins a host of new companies targeting integrators with automation-friendly managed services. Bedford, N.H.-based Nuage (pronounced new-ahj) Nine will introduce its product at CEDIA Expo 2010.

Company president and CEO, Vaughn Petraglia, has an integration background, working for several large IT firms and most recently with Audio Video Experience in Hampton Falls, N.H.

“I remember that when something breaks, we could just throw the schedule out the window,” he says. “The goal of this system is the make life easier for the integrator.”

Tracking the Cloud Network

The product is designed to track everything on the IP network, from entertainment and controls, to smart appliances to energy management systems to computer networks. The system is literally plug-and-play, with installation complete in less than 30 minutes, accoding to Petraglia. Once it is powered up and connected to the network, the product automatically configures itself, locating every product connected to the cloud network using the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). The dealer doesn’t do any programming.

The Linux-based system is brand-agnostic, says Ted Watkinson, vice president of engineering and CTO, meaning it will track any IP-based product regardless of the manufacturer. It polls devices every 2 minutes, looking both at hardware and software. It checks for common issues like over-heating and surges to more sophisticated problems associated with the transmission of packet data across a wireless network.

The integrator receives a text message or email with a warning or indicating a failure. Dealers can also run their own queries and there is a centralized dashboard that dealers can log into to check the status of all their installed systems. Unlike some other remote diagnostic systems on the market, the Nuage Nine unit will not allow access to the homeowner.

“Everything in the home will soon be connected,” says Watkinson. “If an integrator wants to just be the ‘A/V entertainment guy,’ he is opening the door for the computer networking guy to compete for his services in a home.”

The Nuage Nine system (nuage means cloud in French… meaning clients and integrators will be on “cloud 9” with this cloud-based product) comes in a rack-mount and stand-alone versions. The system’s central control has several versions, ranging from $900 to $1,700 MSRP. There is a recommended installation fee of $200, and a recommended monthly fee to clients of $100 to $150 per month, depending on the system size.