Clary Corporation, a leading provider of digital uninterruptable power supply (UPS) solutions has announced that it has freed its management information bases (MIBs), becoming the newest advocate for the #FREEtheMIBs campaign.
“Customers increasingly want to see the status of all ITS devices in their central traffic management system,” says Erik Knecht, Clary National Sales Manager. “Freeing our MIBs is about customer convenience and working smarter. Cities need technology to integrate and interact to deliver the best possible experience for the communities they serve.”
The #FREEtheMIBs campaign was founded less than 18 months ago to advocate that traffic controller manufacturers and other ITS device vendors open their management information bases or MIBs, to allow for greater competition, while reducing costs for agencies and ultimately taxpayers. MIBs have traditionally been locked up as proprietary by individual manufacturers. By restricting access to their MIBs, vendors could lock agencies into long-term and costly contracts by limiting interoperability with competitor products.
Addressing the criticism that some opponents have used to discredit the #FREEtheMIBs campaign, Knecht says that opening MIBs should have no impact on system or component security. “All MIBs reside on the communication card and if you have all the latest security protocols and a firewall, I don’t see that freeing the MIBs puts you in jeopardy,” he concludes.
