iPass (company)

iPass Inc is an American multinational company headquartered in Redwood Shores, California that provides Internet software and services. The firm was first incorporated in California in July 1996 and later reincorporated in Delaware in June 2000.[1] The company's stock was added to the NASDAQ on July 24, 2003.[2]

iPass
TypePublic
NASDAQ: IPAS
IndustryInternet software and services
Founded1996 (1996) in California, United States
FounderChris Moore
Headquarters
Redwood Shores, California
,
United States
Key people
Gary Griffiths (President and CEO
ServicesWi-Fi
Revenue
  • $62,564,000 (2015)
  • $69,804,000 (2014)
  • ($14,911,000) (2015)
  • ($19,449,000) (2014)
  • ($15,493,000) (2015)
  • $6,974,000 (2014)
Total assets
  • $37,843,000 (2015)
  • $55,255,000 (2014)
Total equity
  • $22,601,000 (2015)
  • $38,481,000 (2014)
Number of employees
  • 205 (2015)
  • 250 (2014)
Websiteipass.com

History

iPass was founded in January 1996 by Chris Moore.[3][4] Moore was replaced by Michael H. Mansouri, who took the position of Chairman, President and CEO in 1999, serving until 2001.[5] Kenneth Denman succeeded Mansouri as President and CEO in 2001, later assuming the position of Chairman in 2003.[6]

In July 2003, the firm successfully issued its IPO, raising over $100 million.[7][8]

In 2004, the firm launched a policy orchestration initiative to integrate patch management, assessment and remediation of remote and mobile computers into its connectivity platform.[9] In pursuing this initiative, iPass acquired two companies in 2004: Safe3w, which developed patented dynamic device “fingerprinting” technology, and Mobile Automation, which specialized in mobile device management.[10]

Two years later, iPass acquired GoRemote Internet Communications, a former rival in the corporate remote access market.[11][12] In the midst of these acquisitions, iPass recorded year-end revenue growth, despite declining revenues from the company's traditional dial-up business.[13] Overall, total revenues grew to $192 million by the end of 2007.[14][15]

In 2008, the company appointed Evan Kaplan as CEO and President to replace Denman.[16] During Kaplan's tenure, the firm began to build a service delivery platform for its new enterprise mobility services. By January 2010, the company delivered the first version of its cloud-based platform, iPass Open Mobile.[17]

2015 ushered in a change in the firm’ executive team, beginning with the appointment of Gary Griffiths to the position of CEO and President.[18] Griffiths and his newly appointed Chief Commercial Officer, Patricia Hume, pursued a new growth strategy for mobile services, launching iPass Unlimited, a per-user, per-month, fixed fee subscription for unlimited Wi-Fi usage.[19] The firm also expanded of its network of global hotspots by 2015 from 18 million to 50 million.[20] The company also undertook enhancements to its products and applications. In November 2015, the firm announced proprietary technology, iPass SmartConnect.[21]

In February 2019 Pareteum closed its acquisition of iPass in an all-stock transaction.[22]

Products and services

iPass is a cloud-based service manager that connects users and devices to the company's global Wi-Fi footprint. In its simplest form, it is an application, downloaded by service users to laptops, tablets, or smartphones, to identify and connect to the system's hotspots. It is compatible with Automatic Credential Assignment.

Derived from the company's connectivity intellectual property, the app is powered by iPass SmartConnect, iPass’ Wi-Fi service platform, which identifies and rates access points based on factors such as signal strength, speed, bandwidth availability, and connection success rate. The app also incorporates Last Mile VPN security, profile settings, Wi-Fi connectivity, and network curation to expand the network of available hotspots.

The platform also includes a proprietary scalable reporting and transaction clearing back-end.

Technology infrastructure

The company has a global authentication fabric of integrated servers and software, interconnected with over 160 distinct global Wi-Fi networks. This infrastructure gives the company's aggregated hotspots the look and feel of iPass hotspots. With the addition of iPass SmartConnect, the architecture now opens avenues for improving connection success, real-time monitoring of network outages, and least-cost network routing .

Wi-Fi network

iPass has a Wi-Fi network footprint and supply chain that consists of more than 64 million hotspots in over 160 countries, including major airports, convention centers, planes, trains, train stations, hotels, restaurants, retail, and small business locations.[23] This network footprint includes millions of community and free hotspots.

References
  1. “iPass Inc Form 10-K”. United States Security and Exchange Commission.
  2. Gelsi, Steve. "IPass heats up as two IPOs debut". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  3. "Local companies in battle to link Net service providers - Silicon Valley Business Journal". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  4. "IPASS INC (IPAS:NASDAQ GS): Company Description - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  5. "List of Public Companies Worldwide, Letter - Businessweek - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  6. "Disney heir not amused by CEOs". www.denverpost.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  7. "IPOs regain popularity / After 2 years of inactivity, stock issues are hot again". SFGate. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  8. "iPass launches IPO - Silicon Valley Business Journal". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  9. Pappalardo, Denise. "IPass beefing up policy enforcement". Network World. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  10. "iPass buys Israeli-American start-up Safe3w for $8.5m - Globes English". Globes. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  11. King, Ben (2005-02-14). "Too many cul-de-sacs for effortless roaming". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  12. "iPass Buys GoRemote - Wi-Fi Networking News". wifinetnews.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  13. "Heard in the C-Suite". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  14. “iPass Inc Form 10-K”. United States Security and Exchange Commission.
  15. "iPass Revenue (Quarterly) (IPAS)". ycharts.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  16. “Can new CEO Evan L. Kaplan take iPass to next level?” Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine. ceoworld.biz. 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  17. "Cloud-based open mobile management platform introduced by iPass". SC Magazine UK. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  18. Seward, John (1969-12-31). "iPass Inc. (NASDAQ:IPAS), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) - IPass Spikes: No Buyer, CEO Sacked, Microsoft Pact Unveiled". Benzinga. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  19. "Review: iPass Wi-Fi service for connectivity on the go - TechRepublic". TechRepublic. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  20. Morphy, Erika. "iPass has tech in beta to solve Wi-Fi's most irritating problem". Computerworld. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  21. "IPass SmartConnect Looks to Optimize WiFi With Real-Time Data - RTInsights". RTInsights. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  22. "Pareteum closes acquisition of iPass" Retrieved 2020-03-30
  23. "World's Biggest Wi-Fi Network Adds 9 Million Hotspots | Wi-Fi Now USA". Wi-Fi Now USA. Archived from the original on 2016-01-20. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
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