Empirix Inc. is a privately held company which designs and manufactures service assurance

Service assurance

Service assurance, in telecommunications, is the application of policies and processes by a Communications Service Provider to ensure that services offered over networks meet a pre-defined service quality level for an optimal subscriber experience....

 testing and monitoring equipment for IP-based communications networks such as Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP), IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)-based, next generation network and 4G

4G

In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...

 wireless networks. Empirix offers enterprise and carrier grade products as well as quality assurance products for network equipment manufacturers. Empirix is headquartered in Bedford, MA.

Company history

Empirix’s Hammer test technology was originally developed at Teradyne

Teradyne

Teradyne , a US company, is a supplier of automatic test equipment . The company's divisions Semiconductor Test and Systems Test Group, are organized by the products they develop and deliver.-History:...

. In 1992, the company began researching testing requirements for VoIP, then a new communication technology. The methodology developed proved viable for testing, and subsequently monitoring, other IP communications applications such as data, video, web and mobile services.

On September 6, 2000, the Hammer test technology was spun out of Teradyne and became Empirix Inc. Alex d’Arbeloff, co-founder of Teradyne, was appointed Chairman of the Board.

On June 6, 2008 Empirix sold its e-TEST suite, a set of Web application testing products, to Oracle

Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...

. The company then focused on developing products for testing and monitoring voice quality, contact center equipment and enterprise communications networks as well as carrier grade products for mobile, cable and telecom operators.

In 2009, Empirix was awarded the Global VoIP Test & Monitoring Equipment Market Leadership of the Year Award from research firm Frost & Sullivan. In March 2010, Empirix helped found the Network Test Automation Forum (NTAF) to promote interoperability and develop test automation standards in a collaborative, open and transparent manner.

The July 2010 acquisition of Mutina Technology S.p.A. expanded the company’s offerings to cover Mobile Broadband

Mobile Broadband

Mobile broadband is the marketing term for wireless Internet access through a portable modem, mobile phone or other mobile device.-Description:...

 (MBB), Next Generation Networks (NGN), SS7

SS7

SS-7 can stand for:* Signaling System #7, a set of telephone signaling protocols.* The R-16 missile, with NATO reporting name SS-7 Saddler.* China Railways SS7, an electric locomotive model in China.* Super Socket 7, a chip socket introduced by AMD...

/SIGTRAN

SIGTRAN

SIGTRAN is the name, derived from signaling transport, of the former Internet Engineering Task Force working group that produced specifications for a family of protocols that provide reliable datagram service and user layer adaptations for Signaling System 7 and ISDN communications protocols....

 Signaling, VoD

VOD

VOD may stand for:*Velocity of detonation, the speed of a shock wave through a detonated explosive*Veno-occlusive disease, a complication of bone marrow transplantation*Versant Object Database, a database management system...

/IPTV

IPTV

Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...

, and IP Core for telecom and enterprise networks..

Technology

The company’s core Hammer technology was designed to automate the testing of IP communications networks, applications and services. It models realistic user behavior and emulates the associated session-based, network traffic to measure real-time voice and video quality as well as the performance of the underlying infrastructure. This capability enables real-world load testing of pre-production VoIP, Unified Communications

Unified communications

Unified communications is the integration of real-time communication services such as instant messaging , presence information, telephony , video conferencing, data sharing , call control and speech recognition with non-real-time communication services such as unified...

, IMS, NGN, mobile and other IP-based networks, applications and equipment. Hammer testing predicts both network traffic issues and the quality of the end-user, customer experience..

Empirix adapted the Hammer test technology to provide on-going monitoring for in-production contact centers, enterprise communications systems as well as telecommunications, cable and mobile operators. Empirix has more than 30 patents and patents-pending.

Applications

Notable deployments of Empirix technology include China Mobile

China Mobile

China Mobile Limited is a Chinese state-owned telecommunication company that provides mobile voice and multimedia services through its nationwide mobile telecommunications network, the largest of its kind in the world...

, lastminute.com

Lastminute.com

lastminute.com is an online travel and leisure retailer. The company was founded by Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman in 1998 and became an icon of the UK internet boom of the late 1990s, floating at the peak of the dot com bubble and trading on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol...

, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Suddenlink, and Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

.

Empirix’s partners include Accenture

Accenture

Accenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the largest consulting firm in the world and is a Fortune Global 500 company. As of September 2011, the company had more than 236,000 employees across...

, Avaya

Avaya

Avaya Inc. is a privately held computer networking, information technology and telecommunications company that is a global provider of business communications systems. The international head quarters is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States...

, Genesys

Genesys

Genesys may refer to:* Genesys Conferencing* Genesys Works* Genesys...

, IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

, Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...

, Intervoice, Nuance Communications

Nuance Communications

Nuance Communications is a multinational computer software technology corporation, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, that provides speech and imaging applications...

, and Sonus

Sonus

Sonus is a Latin word, derived from the Greek “tonos” that means “noise, sound” or “tone, character, style.” It is also the root word for sonic and sound and was included in the names of well known companies including Sonus Networks, Sony and Panasonic, among others.The name may also refer...

.

Publications and research

Empirix has published a book about testing and monitoring IMS subsystems and services entitled “Ensuring a Quality IMS Experience: A Practical Guide to Testing and Monitoring IP Multimedia Subsystem and Services.” In addition, the company has sponsored a DMG Consulting research study entitled, “Business As Usual? A Benchmarking Study of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity for Contact Centers.”

Empirix also sponsored the “Companies Unifying the Conversational Contact Center” survey and report created by Opus Research.

Board of directors

The Empirix Board of Directors includes Timothy Barrows, General Partner, Matrix Partners

Matrix Partners

Matrix Partners is a US based private equity investment firm focusing on venture capital investments. The firm invests in seed and early stage companies in the United States and India, particularly in the software, communications, semiconductors, data storage, Internet or wireless sectors.The firm...

; Cynthia Deysher, President, Deysher Advisory Services; Paul Ferri, General (founding) Partner, Matrix Partners; Gregor N. Ferguson, Empirix Chairman of the Board; John D’Anna, Empirix Chief Executive Officer; and John Guttag

John Guttag

John V. Guttag is an American Computer Scientist, Professor and former Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT....

, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at MIT, and Head of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department.

Competitors

Companies offering similar products and services include Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies , or Agilent, is a company that designs and manufactures electronic and bio-analytical measurement instruments and equipment for measurement and evaluation...

, EXFO

EXFO

EXFO is a provider of test and service assurance solutions for wireless and wireline network operators and equipment manufacturers in the global telecommunications industry...

, Ixia, Spirent Communications, Tektronix

Tektronix

Tektronix, Inc. is an American company best known for its test and measurement equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. In November 2007, Tektronix became a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation....

, Cyara Solutions, NetScout Systems, Inc., and Integrated Research.