Wavecrest Computing
Wavecrest Computing is a Florida-based technology company that develops, markets and supports Internet-usage management products for use by commercial and government organizations. Their solutions provide Internet usage filtering and reporting functionality that is designed to help these organizations ensure that their computer users access and use the Internet for productive purposes only. The company markets its products in the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, Australia, and the Asia-Pacific area. Approximately 80 percent of its business is with commercial and industrial companies, and approximately 20 percent is with government agencies. Wavecrest’s market is referred to as either EIM (Employee Internet Management) or IAC (Internet Access Control). Note: The EIM/IAC market is part of the B2B (business-to-business) sector of the economy; a similar market exists in the consumer sector (e.g., home users), but that is not the subject of this article.
The EIM/IAC Market
The EIM/IAC market consists of virtually every business, government, academic or other organization that grants Internet access to its computer users. Such access, if used improperly or inappropriately, can subject these organizations to productivity losses, legal liability risks, wasted bandwidth, and security breaches [see Content-control software]. Wavecrest Computing is one of a number of companies that develop and/or market software and hardware (appliance) products that enable these organizations to control access to the Internet and thus mitigate these issues. Such products typically monitor, filter and/or report on the users' Internet activities. Internet monitoring and filtering vendors typically advise their customers to use their products in conjunction with a clearly communicated Acceptable Use Policy (AUP); they further recommend that managers inform their Internet users regarding what does and does not constitute acceptable usage and what the consequences of unacceptable usage are.
Legalities
Monitoring and/or filtering employees' access to the Internet can be controversial. Some think that it infringes on employees' privacy and freedom, but courts have held that employers have a right to control the use of the organization's resources. "This is due to the fact that monitoring doesn’t just increase workplace efficiency—it also prevents inappropriate browsing and emailing that a company could be liable for. For example, 27% of Fortune 500 companies have defended themselves against claims of [...] harassment due to circulation of inappropriate email or unacceptable Internet use. By putting Internet use policies in place, monitoring employee usage, and enforcing appropriate use of company-owned systems through Web filtering, businesses can shift the responsibility of employees’ actions back onto the employees."
History
A privately held company, Wavecrest was established in 1996 by computer hardware/software engineers Dennis McCabe and Chris Howard. Since that date the company’s product line has grown from one to five products, and their client base has grown to over 3,000 customers. Major commercial customers include Procter & Gamble, General Electric, and IBM. In the government sector, Wavecrest Computing is an approved vendor for several major government agencies including the U.S. Government Services Administration (GSA), the United Nations , and the Governments of Canada, Ireland and the State of Florida. Major Government customers in the U.S. now include the departments of Justice , State and Veterans Affairs.
Product Evolution
Released in 1997, Wavecrest’s first product was a software solution that provided employee Web-use reporting only. Since then the company has rolled out four more products that offer greater functionality and cater to different segments of the market. One of these is an ‘appliance’ solution while the others are software applications.
Three of Wavecrest’s five products combine proxy server capability with Internet usage control; these solutions are aimed primarily—but not exclusively—at the small to mid-size EIM market. A fourth product is a scalable logfile analyzer and reporting solution that is suitable for all types and sizes of organizations. A fifth product is a plug-in filter/reporter that specifically supports Microsoft’s ISA (Internet gateway) products. Note. Wavecrest Computing is a Microsoft Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partner in the ISA Server and Proxy Server areas.
The company’s developmental efforts emphasize product flexibility and accuracy of reporting. Flexibility is supported by features that enable clients to customize the products to fit their own usage policies, organizational culture and management styles. Accuracy of the products’ usage reports is assured by a feature that distinguishes human-initiated clicks, e.g., requests for web pages) from the many automated actions that can result from one click. Among the latter are popups, graphics, video and audio that appear on the requested page.