Rajant Corporation is the exclusive provider of private wireless networks powered by patented Kinetic Mesh technology, BreadCrumb network nodes, and InstaMesh. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Rajant Corporation VP of Sales Engineering Steven Griggs to learn more.
Steven Griggs’ Background
Griggs served Rajant Corporation in various technical roles for over a decade. And Griggs said:
“As Vice President of Sales Engineering, I incorporate 20-plus years of professional design, project management, onsite fieldwork, product management, channel/customer/staff technical training, and telecommunications experience to Rajant’s global engineering staff, which I lead.”
“I joined Rajant in 2007 as the first applications Sales Engineer for the company. Notably, I worked on Rajant’s inaugural US mine deployments and the groundbreaking testing and launch of coach-to-coach communications for the NFL. In 2017, I was promoted to Director of Sales Engineering, where I developed the Rajant technical training program, which is a requirement for the worldwide sales channel and our employees.”
“I am currently a Master’s Candidate at Seton Hall’s Immaculate Conception School of Theology. I earned a Business Management degree from Saint Leo University (Remotely in Va. Beach Va. at Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek), specializing in technology management. Before that, I earned an electrical engineering technology degree from Thomas Nelson Community College. I served nine years in the United States Navy as an electronics technician. After leaving active service, I began a six-year career as a technical trainer and field engineer with Harris RF Communications. Then, I went on to BAE Systems in Chesapeake, Virginia, as a Systems Engineering Technologist. I was deployed to Iraq on two separate occasions in direct support of the war effort.”
Formation Of Rajant
How did the idea for Rajant come together? Griggs shared:
“In 2001, Paul Hellhake and Robert Schena established Rajant together in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The United States witnessed communication breakdowns when traditional networks were overwhelmed and hit by terrorists. Together with a small team of engineers and business development experts, they identified the need for private networking that could effectively support mobile wireless communications under adverse conditions and without vulnerable centralized infrastructure.”
“The Rajant team envisioned a new, dynamic communications network based on a robust mesh technology that would deliver on the promises of mobility, scalability, bandwidth, and immunity to failure. More than 20 years later, we’ve provided this to countless customers, matching these capabilities with the rugged design and tight manufacturing tolerances of the Rajant BreadCrumb equipment.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for Rajant so far? Griggs reflected:
“It’s really difficult to choose one favorite memory. What continues to be my favorite memory, and maybe best accomplishment thus far, is bringing together perhaps the most stellar Sales Engineering teams in the business. They are a close team of professionals working globally to bring Rajant’s unique technology to the world. Working very closely with Rajant’s Sales Team, led by Geoff Smith, the Sales Engineering Team brings unique technology in industrial wireless to vertical markets that were never conceived before the age of IoT.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges do you face in your day-to-day work? Griggs acknowledged:
“Having such a unique brand of technology in the wireless space means it sometimes takes some patient education of the market in the form of end users. I always tell the Sales and Sales Engineering teams, If we can just get them to try Rajant, we don’t have to worry about selling and closing. That problem will take care of itself; we must be ready to manufacture more than ever. Solving problems is what this team does better than any other. Between Rajant Sales and Development, there is no better team suited. If they try Rajant, they’ll buy it.”
Core Products
What are Rajant’s core products and features? Griggs explained:
“Our Rajant Kinetic Mesh network technology is our flagship product and has several applications across various industries. Through an architecture of dispersed BreadCrumbs, our network can adjust links to maintain optimal connectivity performance rapidly. We design our nodes in different sizes and customizable range capabilities to meet specific business needs. Nearly all business operations require reliable connectivity that can be quickly deployed or adjusted depending on space limitations. The sectors we work with include the military, agriculture, mining, oil & gas, material handling, manufacturing, energy, rail, and port shipping.”
“Our nodes can provide critical communications for personnel and power tele-remote and autonomous robotics that perform hazardous tasks in underground mines, ports, and disaster recovery efforts.”
“Rajant’s technology is helping public safety leaders save lives through mission-critical communications. When an emergency happens, every second counts regarding a successful area evacuation or safety action plan. This is particularly true in natural disasters, such as wildfires and earthquakes, and life-threatening weather conditions. To have an efficient critical communications plan in place for any emergency operation—such as deadly floods—a fail-proof network must be utilized to ensure a rapid response and first-responder safety. Traditionally-used cellular data has a limited signal that often struggles to cover the range that a wireless connection can reach. This can result in a loss of communication in remote areas, such as rural and isolated environments. We hope faster, more efficient wireless technology infrastructure will save lives in these devastated areas.”
Evolution Of Rajant’s Technology
How has Rajant’s technology evolved since launching? Griggs pointed out:
“In the early years of Rajant, our node technology was bigger and bulkier in the form of our inaugural XL and XLV nodes and was limited to the chipset technology we could obtain. We were doing things back in the day with 802.11a,b, and g that nobody thought would be possible for much longer than realistically conceivable. We have had nodes installed in some of the harshest mining environments for over ten years. Technology cycles are about 3-5 years. Rajant’s outlive those expectations by double and triple their lifecycles.”
“Today, we are making significant advancements in creating lightweight and compact BreadCrumbs for our mesh networks. Before, our nodes had less mobility and were limited in where they could be mounted in an operational environment. Now, we can attach certain models of our BreadCrumbs to mobile platforms, like aerial drones. This advancement means that our networks are rapidly deployable and can change location, if necessary, to maintain connectivity to other nodes in the area.”
“Additionally, the ruggedness of our BreadCrumb technology is extremely impressive and has pushed us forward. Our nodes can withstand even the harshest conditions and operate nearly anywhere on Earth. The ruggedness of our technology also makes our BreadCrumbs prime candidates to withstand natural disasters. For example, our nodes can be positioned in and around areas vulnerable to hurricanes or wildfires and maintain functionality even in the heart of the storm or when exposed to extreme temperatures.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of Rajant’s most significant milestones? Griggs cited:
“The innovation of BC|Commander was a game changer. Our management application, I suspect alone, is responsible for significant sales. Solutions that have grown because of BC Commander would be our proxy server solution, BC|Connector, and then the follow-on historical monitoring application BC|Enterprise. This suite of software gives network administrators the most powerful tools in the industry to monitor and manage mesh networks that can be as large as over 600 nodes, all in one wireless mesh.”
“In addition, our venture into the space of the NFL was a real game changer, not only because of the size of the spotlight for Rajant’s technology but because it was a problem our team solved ‘on the fly.’ Our development team is exceptional. Their ability to solve unforeseen problems and do it quickly, with the level of innovation they do, is nothing short of remarkable. It was so game-changing because they ended up enhancing and reinventing how we handle multicast traffic. This is extremely important in a Kinetic Mesh Network because it means our potential throughput and bandwidth can expand beyond what we thought initially possible.”
Customer Success Stories
Upon asking Griggs about customer success stories, he replied:
“I can’t share specific customer stories without permission due to Non-Disclosure agreements. That being said, my favorite was an Oil and Gas customer we have. This eventually became our largest network at one point, more extensive than any mine we’d done up to that date. This was so special because, first, we as a company had never taken on a large task on this scale.”
“We’d never done it, but we were sure we could and were eager to prove it. Secondly, there was no network in place, it was a complete “green field” environment, so we got to create something where there was nothing before. We got to watch this network come to life and become its own thing, routing on it’s own, sending data to areas, and giving them coverage they thought they’d never have.”
“In addition, before the network, they had to drive hours out to different pads and download technical data for maintenance and troubleshooting, which slowed production. Now, they could see that same data in real-time and send crews immediately to head off issues before they took down pumps with costly repairs. This company was highly innovative in its space to automate its oil field before others started catching on. It’s a risk being first, but when you do it correctly, the payoff is groundbreaking.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Rajant from its competition? Griggs affirmed:
“Our Kinetic Mesh networks are unlike any other wireless mesh system on the market today, providing fully mobile broadband connectivity that is simple, instantaneous, and fail-proof in any application. We give customers a resilient wireless mesh network solution that moves and evolves with their connectivity demands. No other technology offers what we do, which is why countries across more than 80 countries, and more than a dozen industries entrust us with their mission-critical connectivity needs.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of Rajant’s future company goals? Griggs concluded:
“One of our core missions at Rajant is to expand internet capability and access to everyone. So many tools and resources are available online, but billions of people need more infrastructure or devices to access those resources. Even in the United States, Rajant has been helping to connect isolated communities in remote places like rural Appalachia.”
“As an enterprise, Rajant has always encouraged a place of creative expression and collaboration. We work with our team to produce the best products and results possible.”
