From the Press Release
PowerCloud Systems, a pioneer in cloud networking for the connected home, today announced that Skydog, a breakthrough approach to managing home Internet use, is now available to the general public. A combination of smart Wi-Fi router and a Web application, Skydog gives families coping with an overload of devices and Internet applications unprecedented visibility into, and management over, their home network so that they can take control of their connected lives. Skydog had a successful Kickstarter campaign in Spring 2013 and now more than 1,000 backers are successfully using the Skydog solution to manage their home Internet use. The new Skydog version 1.1 being announced today incorporates feedback from Kickstarter users, adding new functionality, including more granular parental controls and an improved user interface for mobile devices. Skydog is available via www.Skydog.com and Amazon.com.
“The proliferation of devices, coupled with an insatiable demand for connectivity from each member of the family, has created new challenges in managing the home network,” said Jeff Abramowitz, founder and CEO of PowerCloud Systems. “Skydog is the only home networking solution that gives parents the tools to manage Internet use based on the individual needs of each user, making it easier for them to help their kids make smart choices online.”
Many parents find it extremely difficult to stay on top of what their kids are doing online. A recent study from security vendor McAfee (http://bit.ly/15DQdlg) portrays parents as feeling increasingly out of control regarding their kids’ Internet use, with results revealing that:
- Kids spend an average of 6 hours online per day
- 2 out of 3 parents describe their kids as being much more tech-savvy than they are
- 4 out of 5 parents do not know how to find out what their children are doing online
Compounding these parenting challenges are performance problems associated with bandwidth-intensive applications like gaming and streaming media, as well as a constant influx of new connected devices and Internet security threats. Taken together, these issues present multi-faceted demands on the home network that didn’t exist in the past. Today households find themselves struggling to understand what’s happening on their home network, while trying to ensure that it is operating at peak performance.
Skydog represents an entirely new way of managing the home network that is powerful, simple, and affordable. Skydog has two components, a smart router combined with a web app that work together to offer granular management by user and device. Through its location at the home’s gateway to the Internet – the home network – Skydog is able to provide a level of control that goes far beyond any other router-based solution. Typical router solutions address parental control and performance issues by enforcing a single, common set of policies across every device in the house. In comparison, Skydog allows for a unique set of policies for each individual user across all of their devices.
Skydog also offers a superior solution to device-based parental control software solutions, which are licensed for individual PCs, tablets and phones, and require set-up and management on each and every device. Skydog makes it easy and affordable to create and enforce settings by user from a single dashboard for an unlimited number of devices, and with no additional cost.
“This is the perfect router for families with lots of devices,” said Jason Tschetter, of Prior Lake, MN. “It allows you to keep the kids out of things they shouldn't be in without limiting mom and dad. We love it!”
Skydog delivers five key benefits to dramatically improve the entire family’s Internet experience.
- Know What is Happening on the Network
Skydog provides unparalleled visibility into how the Internet is being used at home. With its unique ability to group devices by user, Skydog makes it easy to keep a watchful eye across all kids' devices and help them manage work and play by keeping their Internet usage balanced. Skydog lets you see what websites are being visited, and create a watchlist of key sites for each user.
Protect Kids and Empower Smart Choices
Skydog includes robust filters that allow you to easily choose how much access to the Internet is appropriate for each user.
Skydog provides weekly schedules for each user, allowing parents to specify when kids can be online and their level of Web access during those periods. With Skydog, time spent on gaming and social networking sites can be limited during school days, and the Internet turned off at bedtime.
Skydog makes it easy to help kids develop good habits about their time spent online by sending them real-time notifications when they are about to hit their time limits.
- Stay Connected Anytime, Anywhere
The Skydog Web App is managed through the cloud and accessible from any connected device, so parents can stay connected to their home network in real time, no matter where they are.
Skydog can send notifications via text message or email when broadband service is down, an unexpected guest logs into the home network or even when time limits for Internet use have been exceeded. Skydog makes it easy to diagnose and fix many network problems without having to call in to tech support.
- Protect the Network and its Users
Skydog contains powerful and continually updated filters to block malware to keep every device on the network safe from the outside.
Skydog also protects from the inside, with firewalled zones that let separate users within the home network. With Skydog, a home office can be in one zone, family devices in another, and guest access in a third, ensuring that private data stays private.
- Optimize Performance for Each Family
Skydog makes it easy to allocate bandwidth between zones, or among users and devices according to a schedule or on the fly. With Skydog, you can decide if a Skype call takes priority over a child's streaming music, or ensure that a family-night streaming movie doesn't stutter because of a high-bandwidth game being played in another room.
Pricing and Availability
Skydog is available to the general public today at www.Skydog.com and at Amazon.com for $149.00. This price includes one year of subscription cloud service. For a limited time, Skydog is offering two additional years of Skydog subscription service free with every purchase. For larger properties, PowerCloud Systems is also offering a range extender that will ship in late Q4 2013.
For more information, please follow Skydog on Twitter and Facebook.
PowerCloud Systems is a leader and industry pioneer in cloud-powered wireless networking. The technology underpinning Skydog and the company’s award-winning CloudCommand™ platform was invented at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and makes deploying and monitoring Wi-Fi networks and services easy for consumers and businesses with mobile customers. PowerCloud Systems products are deployed worldwide in homes, hotels, schools, retail chains and other businesses seeking truly affordable, enterprise-grade Wi-Fi. Investors include PARC, Qualcomm Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners and Walden Venture Capital. More information can be found at www.powercloudsystems.com.