Word Usage Guide copy page link

Routers and adapters vs. endpoints

In the first couple stages of the sales funnel, say Cradlepoint provides “routers and adapters.”

WHY? We want our audiences to have a clear understanding of what we provide from the very beginning of their journey with us.

As we transition our audiences to product-specific pages or content … it is acceptable to explain that Cradlepoint provides “endpoints” that include “routers and adapters.” “Endpoints” can only be used to describe the full scope of our hardware, and only when concision is particularly important.

WHY? We want to avoid confusion about how we define endpoints. Only once we establish what Cradlepoint does, and once we explain what we mean by “endpoints,” do we want to use that term.

Refer to “IoT routers” instead of “IoT gateways” in most references.

WHY? We want to highlight that our IoT endpoints are more than just gateways; they feature routing functionality.

FACT Cradlepoint’s NetCloud Service is delivered through a variety of endpoints, including routers, adapters, and APs. 

Wireless WAN

[ DEFINITION ]
An organization that deploys cellular edge networking as essential WAN infrastructure (in either branch, mobile, or IoT use cases) is operating a Wireless WAN.

Examples:

“With cellular routers deployed throughout our company’s fleet of delivery vehicles, we have a Wireless WAN for highly reliable connectivity everywhere our drivers go.”

“Our company has deployed cellular-based failover adapters and IoT gateways as part of our Wireless WAN, and NetCloud will make it easy for us to add 5G routers in several locations in 2021.”

Use of “wireless”

The use of the term “wireless” should be accompanied with some type of modifier to ensure that it does not get confused with Wi-Fi or mobile phones. “Wireless” when used with “WAN” is sufficiently differentiated and not to be confused with Wi-Fi (wireless LAN) or phones.

Examples:

“Using LTE and 5G for wireless backup connectivity often is the best option.”

“Cellular links often are the best option for in-store connection failover.”

NOTE: The term “Wireless WAN” can be used to describe the cellular edge networking category but should not be used to describe narrow use cases where the term “WAN” is not commonly used.

Examples:

Private cellular network

(and related terms and products)

— Private cellular networks is the umbrella term for private LTE and private 5G. When we discuss both private LTE and private 5G together at a high level, we use the term private cellular networks.

— Ericsson Private Networks is Ericsson’s umbrella category for its two branded private cellular solution sets, NetCloud Private Networks and Ericsson Private 5G (formerly known as Dedicated Networks).

— Cradlepoint NetCloud Private Networks is a complete subscription package tailored to IT environments with everything they need to build and operate a private cellular network with cloud-native operations, scalability, plug-and-play deployment, and zero-trust access.

— Cradlepoint Private Network Endpoints: Cradlepoint provides a comprehensive selection of compatible cellular-enabled endpoints that allow customers to connect non-native devices to a NetCloud or EP5G private network. From IoT to vehicle and site use cases, Cradlepoint endpoints are purpose-built and provide unified edge security; Cellular Intelligence; container-based edge computing; and Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, serial, and GPIO connectivity.

The term “private network” means many different things to IT professionals and network admins. It’s general enough that potential private cellular networking customers won’t automatically know what we mean when we say “NetCloud Private Networks.” Because of this as well as our extensive SEO research, we will use terms such as “private cellular networks,” “private LTE,” and “private 5G” in marketing content. We will reserve the terms “NetCloud Private Network” and “private network” for the point in the customer journey where we specifically introduce the Cradlepoint solution.

Examples of usage and capitalization:

“For a complete, end-to-end private 5G solution, many organizations are deploying Cradlepoint NetCloud Private Networks.”

“For more security, reliability, and agility with the unmatched performance and reach of advanced cellular connectivity, many organizations are deploying private networks.”

“When Wi-Fi isn’t secure enough and doesn’t scale well, a private cellular network often is the best option for wireless LAN in large spaces.”

“Private 5G and LTE are gaining traction as secure, reliable, and agile wireless networking options, especially in scenarios where Wi-Fi and public cellular are less than ideal.”

“For an end-to-end private 5G solution, many enterprises are deploying Ericsson Private 5G.”

“For an end-to-end private LTE solution, many enterprises are deploying Cradlepoint NetCloud Private Networks.”

“Ericsson Private Networks is a simple, end-to-end product category for enterprises seeking the security, reliability, and agility of private 5G and LTE. With solutions including NetCloud Private Networks and Ericsson Private 5G, Ericsson Private Networks provides a right-sized solution for use cases in warehouses, large venues, smart cities, highly automated manufacturing plants, and beyond.”

Acceptable synonyms for ‘5G’ and ‘LTE’

Instead of writing “5G and LTE solutions” in every instance where both types of cellular technologies are being referenced, you can use these acceptable synonyms to provide variety:

Example:

“Wireless broadband solutions leverage 5G and LTE technologies to deliver highly reliable connectivity that doesn’t depend on wires.”

Only use the word “wireless” along with an appropriate qualifying term or within a title or sentence that makes it clear we are referring to LTE and 5G, not Wi-Fi.

WHY? Because most professionals within the tech industry assume “wireless” refers to Wi-Fi.

Examples titles:

Fixed Wireless Access

Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is a term commonly used by network operators/carriers to describe the 5G services they offer for last-mile connectivity as an alternative to leased-line wired Internet access, particularly for small businesses.

— Carriers talk about FWA as 5G connectivity for fixed sites only.

— Ericsson talks about FWA as 5G connectivity for consumers and also small businesses.

— Cradlepoint usually reserves the term FWA for situations where:

— Carriers are the main audience.

— Cradlepoint is providing carrier enablement content that carriers will use and/or promote. A joint webinar is a good example of this.

NOTE: Cradlepoint’s enterprise customers do not use this term very often, so we do not use it very often in marketing content. When we do use this term, we do so with the understanding that Wireless WAN solutions leverage FWA.

Example:

“The company deployed 5G Fixed Wireless Access in its retail stores, using Cradlepoint’s NetCloud Service and wireless edge routers.”

Enterprise

Use the term “enterprise” instead of “commercial” or “business” when referencing Cradlepoint’s customers outside the public sector space.

Enterprise encompasses both large and SMB customers.

Centralized network management vs. remote network management

When referencing the capabilities of NetCloud Manager, it is preferable to use “centralized management” instead of “remote management.”

WHY?

— Remotely managing = this is what our Remote Connect feature does, ability to access a remote endpoint and manage it.

— Centrally managing = this means you can manage a distributed network from a centralized location.

“Centralized management” is a better, more diverse story.

FACT Cradlepoint-delivered Wireless WANs are centrally managed from anywhere.

Elastic Edge

[ DEFINITION ]
“Elastic Edge” is a high-level company vision, not a solution or product. Elastic Edge is the label that Cradlepoint uses for its next-generation enterprise WAN vision, and it represents a strategic brand asset. As such, use it precisely and sparingly.

CONTEXT: A number of vendors have a label for their approach to next-generation, software-defined WANs. For example, Cisco has iWAN and Viptela uses the label Secure Extensible Network (SEN).

NOTE: The first instance of Elastic Edge^TM in copy must have the TM unless it is in the title (H1) or subtitle (H2). Only use the Elastic Edge trademark in the first instance in the copy; every subsequent instance will only need to be capitalized.

FACT Cradlepoint’s Elastic Edge vision provides a blueprint for next-generation edge networks that deliver pervasive broadband connectivity, cloud-like agility, and software extensibility — all while ensuring enterprise-class visibility, security, and control.