Consultants

Clients are often overwhelmed just meeting day to day service needs. Investigating options and planning changes push them beyond their knowledge of available technology and their available time to work on new projects.

Consultants can fill the gap, working for the client like internal resources, and bringing the expertise to get the work done. We gather information, investigate options and present the options to the client, who makes the ultimate decisions. This includes  helping clients reach a level of understanding where they can make decisions with confidence.



How We Can Help

Our Commitment To Learning

Our Commitment To Integrity

WillowFalls Training Lab


How We Can Help

As a consulting company we bring several additions to a communications or security project, which help our clients.

Industry Knowledge
– Communications and security is what we do for a living. We work with various types of equipment in our lab, so we get to know what really works. We attend trade shows, conferences and seminars, as well as reading industry trade journals, to know trends, such as where different sectors are going with new systems.

Supplier Knowledge – We work with vendors and service providers on other projects, and talk with them regularly, so we know what they have and what they are planning for the future.


Experience Of Other Clients
– By working through similar issues with other clients, we bring their experience and ideas to help broaden the possibilities and identify problem areas.

Dedicated Resource – It takes time to collect and document requirements, identify and follow up on potential options, meet with suppliers and document the results. This is time that internal resources do not have. Consultants can bring resources to dedicated functions like project management, documentation and procurement.

An Outside View – Not being part of the organization brings a new perspective that helps focus efforts on the real requirements, solutions and options. Sometimes it is difficult for people inside an organization to ask what are perceived as silly questions, which can drive "outside the box" ideas.

Our Commitment To Learning

At WillowFalls, we believe consultants need to have more than a theoretical understanding of how things work and how clients go about their business.

We invest in training on various equipment to understand the technology and vendors solutions, as well as operational training like ICS/IMS, Business Continuity, and Emergency Management, to understand how clients operate.

Through hands on work in our training lab, we deal with the issues of installation, configuration and operation of equipment, so we understand how it really works. For example, through our interoperability testing, we know the challenges of interfacing different narrow band digital technologies through analog audio interfaces.


Our Commitment To Integrity

Integrity: "adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. "

At WillowFalls Consulting we pride ourselves on maintaining a good relationship with service and equipment providers, while remaining vendor neutral in our work. We work for the client.

We do not sell products or services, so we are not in competition with suppliers. Maintaining clear boundaries is important for ensuring confidence with clients and vendors.


WillowFalls Training Lab

The WillowFalls training lab is a comprehensive microcosm of communications and security systems equipment. The lab is built on a secure IP network, based on Canadian Government IT Security Guidance (ITSG), such as ITSG-38 Guideline for Network Security Zoning. Using individual computers and software virtualization, the lab operates a mix of Windows operating systems, as well as Linux and Solaris, and of course DOS for a few older analog radios.

Radios include analog, NXDN, DMR and P25, with both simplex and trunking capability. With TETRA now an option in North America, we are preparing to add TETRA to the collection. Radios are both mobile and portable, from a variety of vendors. All equipment is purchased outright, to avoid any conflict of interest. The lab also includes a Key Fill Device for loading AES keys into P25 radios.

Physical security and access control are also part of the lab. As part of renovations, we are adding an IP access control system and IP cameras.

The training lab also extends to a mobile vehicle environment, with an IP network and mobile cameras and video recording system, as well as console mounted radios. The vehicle network is a secure mobile network that can also interface with the training lab.