Apple in the defense industry
Apple is not the standard technology platform for the DoD, so EchoStorm’s proposal to use Apple technology met with some initial resistance. According to Barton, however, the customer was quickly impressed with the capabilities Apple technology offered. “With Apple we were able to deliver the exact functionality the DoD was looking for. Also, the Common Criteria Certifications were all there. The DoD had all the confidence in the security of the products, which was key.”
The DoD also required interoperability between different technology platforms and Apple’s support for multiplatform environments enables ISRIS Video to function anywhere. “The ISRIS Video System doesn’t sit in the headquarters environment — it gets pushed out at the point of need,” Barton explains. “We deliver it almost like an appliance. There’s no dependency to other legacy systems. You just drop it in and it works.”
Secure standards-based technology and content delivery
To select technology to support the ISRIS Video System, EchoStorm reviewed products from a full range of media companies, including Microsoft and Real Networks. Faced with an aggressive timeline, however, the company needed maximum flexibility for fast development. QuickTime offered an extremely extensible platform with thousands of customization options to allow developers to build a rich media experience quickly. “None of the other solutions provided the flexibility of QuickTime,” says Barton. “They were player focused, not developer focused. Only Apple provided all of the key functions and security we needed given our tight deadlines.”
In the end, standards-based, open source technology was paramount. “We didn’t want to tie the government to a proprietary technology. We wanted to be able to extend the solution to anyone, anywhere, and provide maximum benefit to the warfighter by leveraging open standards. With Apple technology, we were able to ensure that.”
Another challenge was security. The distribution of military intelligence naturally entailed heavy security requirements. “We wanted a machine that didn’t have the problems of other platforms out there,” Barton explains. “Apple products offered both the security and flexibility the project required.”
EchoStorm acknowledges Apple’s role in the success of its Joint Forces Command project. “From the business point of view, Xserve was exactly what we needed,” Barton explains. “It makes a terrific development platform with an open source framework. Apple gave us as much flexibility as possible in terms of development.”
Today the EchoStorm solution is supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad. EchoStorm worked closely with the Joint Forces Command on deployment, which took about one month to complete. With the success of the initial project, the Joint Forces Command and the DoD are now considering larger-scale deployments.
EchoStorm in new industries
Apple’s platform-agnostic technology has helped make EchoStorm solutions adaptable across vastly different and challenging environments. Beyond its success in the DoD, EchoStorm has found applications for its solutions across a range of commercial industries, including entertainment, health care, and education. The initial reasons EchoStorm chose Apple — flexibility of development, multiplatform support, and the security of standards-based technology — remain central as EchoStorm extends its solution to new industries. “We’ve been experiencing tremendous growth since the DoD initiative,” says David Barton. “Apple has been a key part of our success.”
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