Attachmate and PRAGMA SYSTEMS: Partnering to Put SSH in the Field for Motorola

The Client: Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions

Motorola-—known around the world as an innovator and leader in wireless and broadband communications—designs and delivers “must have” products and powerful networks, and offers a full complement of support services. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola, which employs more than 66,000 in 30 locations worldwide, had sales of $36.6 billion in 2007.

Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions group delivers mobile computing, advanced data capture, wireless infrastructure, and RFID solutions to retail, manufacturing, wholesale distribution, healthcare, travel and transportation, government, and public safety customers worldwide.

One of Motorola’s cutting-edge biometric products, the Mobile Automated Fingerprint Identification System (Mobile AFIS), provides remote and timely access to fingerprints, facial images and criminal history. This widely deployed identification and verification tool provides governmental entities with immediate access to essential information, even in outlying and mobile locations. Simply put, Motorola’s Mobile AFIS gives law enforcement officers the ability to securely establish an individual’s identity in real time, while they still have face-to-face contact in the field with potential suspects.

The Challenge: Make Something Secure Even More Secure

Motorola leads the market in producing mobile-assist devices that run on multiple platforms. Utilizing a Motorola device, Mobile AFIS captures software fingerprints and images in the field, then transmits them anywhere in the world.

In line with the integrated communication provider’s commitment to maintaining the cutting-edge functionality, security, and overall value of its Mobile AFIS offering, Motorola recently conducted a detailed review of the market’s leading data-in-motion security providers. The company’s goal? To identify a technology partner that could significantly upgrade the security and feature set of the Mobile AFIS communications capabilities.

The Choice: Attachmate and Pragma Systems

Motorola’s decision? “In the end, we turned to Attachmate because it was clear that they afforded us a great deal of security at a great price,” explains Anthony Esquivel, Manager, Marketing Communications and Mobile AFIS product line, Motorola Networks & Enterprise. “Attachmate then brought Pragma Systems to the table. The combination of security, functionality and value that the Attachmate/Pragma team offered was particularly important for Mobile AFIS because most state and local police forces have limited budgets for solutions like these.”

According to Esquivel, the Attachmate/Pragma Systems team successfully addressed Motorola’s requirements. “The team and technology that Attachmate put together gives us the necessary level of encryption that we required,” he says. “It gives us GSA certification; it operates on Windows Mobile; it supports all of the processors we use; and it supports all of our devices, which range from proven solutions that use older processors to newer solutions that are faster.”

Attachmate, known for its market-leading Reflection® for Secure IT SSH servers, partnered with Pragma Systems, known for its mobile encryption capabilities, to put in place the ultimate server/custom client software combination for Mobile AFIS. “The Attachmate/Pragma solution is a key provider for encryption solutions to our customers,” explains Esquivel.

“Attachmate controls the server software, Pragma supplies the client software, and the partnership works well together—particularly for Mobile AFIS,” Esquivel asserts. “By giving us a unified solution, Attachmate and Pragma made it easy to integrate and easy for our customers to work with. The bottom line: Motorola’s Mobile AFIS, secured by the technology of Attachmate and Pragma Systems, is a strong product in terms of both security and usability.”

The Connection: Attachmate’s Take

When Motorola approached Attachmate (www.attachmate.com)—a leader in helping organizations extend their mission-critical services and ensuring they are managed, secure, and compliant—Attachmate knew its SSH server technology was a terrific fit for the challenge presented by Motorola.

Attachmate enjoys a global reputation for its comprehensive line of SSH servers, Reflection for Secure IT, which protect mission-critical data in motion. Anticipating that the quality of its SSH servers would give it the edge with Motorola, Attachmate focused its attention on identifying an optimal partner that could help extend its encryption capabilities to hand-held devices—and technical engineer Tony Luque turned to Pragma Systems.

Luque had worked with Pragma on another handheld project, and he knew the two companies could provide a seamless, nonintrusive solution to secure Motorola’s Mobile AFIS application. “In addition to our SSH server technology, Attachmate has an unmatched team of enterprise-focused resources,” he says. “And I knew that Pragma could quickly respond to Motorola’s specific requests.”

This recipe of technology, agility, and commitment to Motorola proved unbeatable. “We earned this business because we offered Motorola an optimal, secure solution they could adopt without making any modifications to their own application,” says Luque. “Many of the other offerings required Motorola to modify their Mobile AFIS application to embed the encryption. The Attachmate/ Pragma solution wrapped the Mobile AFIS application in security allowing it to be run without invasive code changes.”

The Agile Partner: Pragma Systems

Luque emphasizes the solid working relationships both Attachmate and Pragma Systems were able to create with Motorola. “The consultative partnership we developed to help them solve a particular customer problem afforded Motorola a tremendous level of value-added support,” he states. “Attachmate has served as the glue, and we’ve been well-positioned to facilitate between Motorola’s requirements and Pragma’s ability to customize.”

SSH and encryption specialists Pragma Systems agree. “From the minute Attachmate approached us with Motorola’s requirements, it was clear that an off-the-shelf, canned product would not do,” explains Pragma System’s Sultan Ahmed, Senior Engineer. “Our ability to rapidly customize our technology solution to respond to Motorola’s exact brief and specifications made us the right partner for this particular challenge.”

The customization was not without its share of technical challenges—from resolving memory footprint issues to creating multiple tunnels for secured data transmission and creating built-in protections that prevent these tunnels from being broken. “It wasn’t easy, but by listening and responding to Motorola and Attachmate, we were able to improve Mobile AFIS’ overall usability,” explains Ahmed.

Attachmate and Pragma: Mobile Computing Dream Team

Given the success of Attachmate’s work with Pragma Systems on Mobile AFIS, the two security specialists are now partnering to meet the specific, secured mobile computing needs of other organizations.

Attachmate Strategic Alliance Manager Eric Thorson believes the Mobile AFIS partnership was the ideal proving ground for their joint capabilities. “Motorola had a challenging environment, and they needed our combined products, expertise, and assistance in securing the very sensitive data going around their network,” he explains. “Their Mobile AFIS solution relied on sophisticated pieces of technology that did not fit or work together as well as they would like, and Attachmate and Pragma Systems stepped in to fill the gap.”

Attachmate’s Luque believes the two companies are uniquely positioned to create customized security solutions. “Motorola appreciated our combined responsiveness and our ability to flexibly adapt our solutions to meet their needs,” he says. “We are already working with Pragma again to do that for another company.”

Ahmed stresses Pragma’s ability to customize hand-held computing applications. “As long as there is a feature somebody wants that is do-able on a handheld platform, Pragma can do it for them in a cost-effective matter,” he asserts.

Andrew Tull, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Pragma Systems, concurs. “Our strategic partnership with Attachmate lets companies take advantage of the strengths of both companies,” Tull says. “Our work with Motorola has been so effective and successful, Pragma is excited about the possibilities that future collaboration with Attachmate will yield.”

Motorola, too, now works directly with Pragma Systems on projects outside the Attachmate/Mobile AFIS partnership. “As a result of our work with Attachmate, we’re collaborating with Pragma to alter some of their existing software products to address some specific needs of our customers,” says Esquivel.

“The bottom line is, from a technical standpoint, the Attachmate/Pragma solution is a comprehensive solution for our Mobile AFIS customer needs, and we have enjoyed working with both companies.”