Avtec, Harris announce strategic alliance

Dispatch-console maker Avtec and Harris recently announced that the companies have signed an agreement that gives Harris the ability to resell Avtec consoles in North America, according to an Avtec executive.

John Rosati, senior vice president of marketing and sales at Avtec, said the strategic alliance with Harris also provides Avtec with the ability to work with Tait Communications, the New Zealand-based radio manufacturer that forged a strategic partnership with Harris last year.

“We just completed our agreement, which is going to have us partnering and teaming together to provide mission-critical and business-critical solutions to the marketplace, with integrated Harris/Tait LMR systems and Avtec dispatch solutions,” Rosati said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications.

“We’re doing specific integrations with Harris and Tait, so this really helps them put that Harris-Tait agreement on steroids, so to speak. We’re going to be featured in [the Harris IWCE 2017] booth, and they’re doing EnableLocation capability that’s going to integrate mapping using GPS data from the radios that will be brought into the dispatch consoles to allow tracking of radios, resources and things like that. Harris is featuring that as a whole DMR-ecosystem type of solution that they can bring to market from end radios all the way back to the dispatch line of a total integrated solution.”

Jeremy Elder, Harris’ system infrastructure and consoles product line manager, echoed this sentiment.

“This integrated solution enables public safety and utility professionals to track personnel and vehicle location for faster, more informed decisions in emergency situations,” Elder said in a prepared statement.

Although the solution being demonstrated at IWCE showcases the ability for Avtec to integrate with a DMR system from Harris, the integration initiative is not limited only to the Harris DMR solutions, Rosati said.

Rosati outlined the benefits that Avtec expects to realize through the strategic alliance with Harris.

“For us, it’s going to allow us to expand the Avtec Scout solution and all of our different brands out to the marketplace, leveraging Harris’s vast distribution network, both on the direct and indirect side,” Rosati said. “Even though we share some of the same dealers when we go to market, this opens up a whole new distribution arm to us.

“It also allows us to go to market with a high level of confidence in our solution, since it’s validated, tested and will be ongoing supported by Harris. So, our customer base and new customers will have a lot of confidence in the solutions that we’re delivering to market that they’re going to be supported ongoing.”

For Harris, the agreement with Avtec is expected to help the radio manufacturer expand its market base, Rosati said.

“For all of the Harris dealers and their customers, the value is that now they can leverage Avtec’s unique experience and capability in our dispatch system relating to telephony solutions and security and just scalability from our experience in doing large airlines, railroads and utilities,” he said. “So that’s going to open up markets for them—as well as for their customers—to be able to have confidence in a solution that has that type of experience and track record.”