Tag: internet of things

2019 will be the year of AI and IoT as top supply chain trends

Bean counters at Gartner have added up some numbers and divided by their shoe size and worked out that AI, IoT and automation are the areas businesses must adopt if they are to boost the efficiency of their supply chains.

Gartner research vice president Christian Titze seems somewhat inevitable that AI will play a vital role in enabling business leaders to automate processes such as demand forecasting, planning production volume needs and equipment maintenance predictions to ensure the production line can cope with demand.

BlackBerry offers security packs

BlackBerry announced it is scaling its BlackBerry Secure technology and licensing strategy to enable its partners to rapidly bring-to-market safe and secure IoT devices.

According to a recent survey commissioned by the company, approximately 80 per cent of consumers in the US, UK and Canada do not trust their current Internet-connected devices to secure their data and privacy. Additionally, when asked about future purchases, respondents said they were more likely to choose a product or do business with a company that had a strong reputation for data security and privacy.

Boston Networks swallows 2020 Vision Systems

Internet of Things (IoT) solutions provider Boston Networks has written a cheque for Newcastle-based 2020 Vision Systems.

The Glasgow-based VAR has undertaken a strategy to establish itself as the UK in “network-enabled smart integrated technologies to improve the performance safety and security of buildings, campuses, and cities.”

2020 Vision specialises in IP-enabled security technology and video surveillance and has a strong presence across the North-East, including an office in Birmingham.

The deal brings the headcount of the Boston Group to 170 after it previously acquired London-based audiovisual solutions provider PEL Services in April.

Scott McEwan, Boston Networks CEO, said: “We look forward to using 2020’s many years of experience of working in key areas of critical physical security, which will help us to drive towards the next phase of our growth as we continue to focus on applying technology to improve the performance, safety, and security of people, buildings and assets. In particular, this acquisition further deepens our services in the further education sector, enhances our existing security offering through the cloud platform and significantly spreads our geographic coverage.”

Greig Brown chairman of Boston Networks said that the latest acquisition is a strong fit for the VAR.

“In addition to the complementary solutions offering and strong management team, it is a significant step forward in our plan to create a national provider of integrated life safety, security and networking services, in key sectors, specifically targeting mid-market UK-based Blue-Chip companies.”

 

Most CIOs fear IoT performance problems

Nearly three quarters of IT leaders are concerned that Internet of Things (IoT) performance problems could directly impact business operations and significantly damage revenues.

Software intelligence company, Dynatrace, has announced the findings of an independent global survey of 800 CIOs, which reveals that 78 percent of CIOs said there is a risk that their organisation will roll-out IoT strategies without having a plan or solution in place to manage the performance of the complex cloud ecosystems that underpin IoT rollouts.  69 per cent of CIOs predicted that IoT would become a significant performance management burden

Wind River starts downsizing

banner_220x220Wind River Systems is laying off staff after Intel sold the industrial Internet of Things software outfit to a private equity firm last month.

More than 64 employees, including a vice president, have cleaned out their desks in California and it appears that the company will make layoffs at its other offices across the world.

Wind River, which develops embedded operating systems, became an independent company in June after Intel completed its sale of the business to TPG Capital, a private equity firm that bought McAfee from Intel in 2017. McAfee had also made layoffs shortly after it was acquired.

The deal to sell Wind River was announced in early April while Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel was under the leadership of former CEO Brian Krzanich, who was ousted last month following the disclosure of a relationship he had with a former employee that broke company policy. Intel had acquired Wind River in 2009.

When the deal was announced, Intel Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Internet of Things Group Tom Lantzsch said the spinout of Wind River was “designed to sharpen our focus on growth opportunities that align to Intel’s data-centric strategy,” despite industrial IoT remaining a part of that strategy. Wind River had been a part of Intel’s IoT Group, whose annual revenue grew 20 percent to $3.2 billion last year, but the subsidiary had been a small percentage of that business, a source said at the time. Intel, however, did say that Wind River was profitable while declining to break out its sales.

Microsoft invests $5 billion in IoT

fings-ain-t-wot-they-used-t-be-all-star-studio-cast-recordingSoftware King of the World Microsoft has allocated $5 billion from its cash mountain to expand the internet of things.

The cash, which will be spent over the next four years aims to give Volish customers the ability to transform their businesses, and the world at large, with connected solutions.

Writing in the Microsoft bog, Julia White, CVP Microsoft Azure said that the impact of IoT solutions extends well beyond that into our daily lives.

“Our customers are delivering electricity to schools in Africa, creating better patient outcomes with predictive care, improving worker safety on job sites and driver safety on Alaskan roadways”, she said.

White said that Microsoft was seeing the kind of increased adoption and exponential growth that analysts have been forecasting for years and she thinks this effect will be pervasive, from connected homes and cars to manufacturers to smart cities and utilities—and everything in between.

“This increased investment will support continued innovation in our technology platform, as well as supporting programs. We will continue research and development in key areas, including securing IoT, creating development tools and intelligent services for IoT and the edge, and investments to grow our partner ecosystem. Customers and partners can expect new products and services, offerings, resources and programs”, she said.

She cited the case of Johnson Controls which transformed a thermostat into a smart device that can monitor a range of conditions to optimise building temperatures automatically. Schneider Electric has built a solution to harness solar energy in Nigeria and using Microsoft’s IoT platform to do maintenance remotely on the panels, quite literally to keep the lights on. Kohler has created a new line of intelligent kitchen and bath fixtures that are not only luxurious to use but more economical as well. The Alaska Department of Transportation is working with Colorado-based Fathym to build smart roadways that monitor weather conditions and can alert drivers and state officials about treacherous conditions.

“These stories keep rolling in. With each new implementation, we’re witnessing a unique transformation. We’re also getting a look into how both customers and partners overcome the specific challenges of building an IoT solution that harnesses massive amounts of data. Whether they’re building products that transform the home, office or factory floor, one thing remains clear: IoT is a collaborative, multi-disciplinary effort that spans cloud development, machine learning, AI, security and privacy”, White said.

Well, she would say that. And she did.

 

IoT projects need to return money fast

fings-ain-t-wot-they-used-t-be-all-star-studio-cast-recordingSuppliers of IoT gear are warning that projects have to deliver cash savings to clients fast.

Customers deploying Internet of Things (IoT) projects neither have the time or the budget to be experimental and are looking to the industry to help deliver results quickly.

While many in the IoT channel are expecting a busy year next year, there are signs that customers might not have much patience when it comes to planning returns.

IoT customers in vertical markets do not have much cash to fund the development and roll out of technology. They need returns fast.

Lantronix senior director EMEA sales Alex Hollingsworth said that suppliers must reduce time to revenue and time to market and has launched its software platform, Mach10 to help those OEMs developing IoT solutions.

Customers are calling for suppliers to create a business case and the Lantronix platform should help OEMs generate the value to show users.

The IoT market is developing specialised resellers as companies realise that they can’t do it all themselves. As a result, they are finding that they need to partner.

IBM calls in Watson for the IoT

Sherlock-Holmes-and-WatsonThe ever shrinking Biggish Blue wants to use advanced analytics  and its Watson platform to help partners and customers stand out in the crowded Internet of Things market.

Talking to the assembled throngs at IoTConnex, IBM’s business development leader IoT for Manufacturing and Industrial Products Raghbir Kern said that analytics and cognitive computing capabilities will be an essential part of IoT as industrial companies continue to connect their manufacturing floors.

“You may have heard of Industries 4.0 … this is a concept that focuses on the digitization of the modern manufacturing plant, which means you are connecting all your equipment, data, sensors. … We are taking that and adding on one more layer, cognitive computing, and really delivering on a vision of cognitive manufacturing that our customers have,” said Kern.

Customers were collecting data from multiple sources and are making that data transparent so they can see patterns and trends in the data and deliver better insight.

Kern said that companies will come to rely on tools like analytics. “In order to get to these later stages of cognitive manufacturing … you really have to take advantage of advanced analytics and cognitive technologies,” she said.

Partners have access to advanced analytics through IBM’s Watson Internet of Things platform, which incorporates both rule-based analytics, enabling customers to see what happens when one event occurs, or model-based analytics, which allows customers to predict future events.

With these tools, IBM Watson delivers three core cognitive manufacturing applications: using IoT to sense and diagnose issues so companies can optimise the performance of intelligent assets and equipment; using cognitive processes to bring more certainty to businesses through analysing a variety of information from workflows; and using insight to optimise resources.

IoT adopters need systems integrators

fings-ain-t-wot-they-used-t-be-all-star-studio-cast-recordingEnterprises wanting to build end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) solutions are increasingly turning to System Integrators (SIs) as partners.

ABI Research forecasts that IoT system integration and consulting revenues will grow past US$35.7 billion in 2022 from just under US$17 billion in 2017 at a CAGR of 16.1 percent. SI specialists address the challenges the IoT poses due to their vast experience integrating legacy systems into end-to-end solutions, their knowledge of the IoT landscape and players in the market, and their existing relationships with enterprises and end-users. That’s what it reckons.

“The core responsibility of a system integrator is to fill the gap between solution providers and targeted market verticals”,  said Ryan Harbison, Research Analyst at ABI Research. “As such, SIs have a deep knowledge not only of enterprise pain points and issues, but also of specific applications and the business as a whole.”

SIs are becoming essential partners in many IoT partner program ecosystems due to their expertise in integrating IoT solutions across specific vertical markets and regions. SIs range from global system integrators (GSIs) and consultancies like Accenture, Deloitte, and PricewaterhouseCoopers to IT service system integrators like IBM and HP. GSIs like Accenture have stayed ahead of the curve in IoT primarily by addressing client demand for connected solutions and by understanding the value behind enterprise digital transformation and technology convergence. Technology services providers such as Altimetrik and Leverege have delivered value to their clients by offering extensive knowledge and expertise within particular vertical market segments.

“End-users are less concerned with the features of a various device or software platform and are more concerned with how their IoT solutions work as a whole to truly become a system of systems,” concludes Harbison. “Enterprises looking to develop IoT solutions may not contact hardware or software vendors and instead rely on the advice of a SI to navigate the marketplace to find solution components that deliver a full solution. Moving forward, it’s crucial for software and hardware providers to develop deep relationships with a range of SIs that provide vertical-specific solutions to end-users.”

These findings are from ABI Research’s Role of System Integrators in M2M and IoT report. This report is part of the company’s M2M, IoT & IoE research service, which includes research, data, and analyst insights.

IDC thinks the IoT market is set to explode

hindenburg_burningBeancounters at IDC think that the Internet of Things (ioT) is suddenly going to stop being a buzz word and “explode.”

According to an IDC report IoT  is gaining traction as enterprise companies pivot away from proof-of-concept projects to scalable IoT deployments in 2016.

A third of companies have announced IoT offerings incorporating cloud, analytics and security capabilities, while an additional 43 percent of companies are looking to deploy offerings in the next year.

Carrie MacGillivray, vice president of mobility and Internet of Things at IDC said that outfits are starting to understand the benefits that IoT can bring.

She added that a strong partner ecosystem is essential and channel and systems integrators as playing an increasingly important role.

Companies are seeing vendors leading with an integrated cloud and analytics offerings as “critical partners” in an organization’s IoT investment, IDC found.

IDC’s survey found that 55 percent of respondents see IoT as strategic to their business to help them compete more effectively, there are still challenges – many organizations cited lack of internal skills as a top concern in deploying an IoT offering.

Dell starts IoT partner programme

michael-dell-2Tin Box shifter Michael Dell has started an IoT solutions partner programme designed to make it easier for partners to identify themselves as specialists in this area.

The vendor is contacting providers to encourage them to use its technology in their offerings to provide more features, including security and data analytics.

Dell has been listing the tech it provides for intelligent gateways, embedded PCs, security, manageability tools, data center and cloud infrastructure and data analytic tools. It also is building ‘use case blueprints’ that will make it easier for partners to deploy IoT gear.

The IoT partner programme has three tiers – executive, associate and registered.

Registered partners might be doing enough to get the public backing of Dell but do not have enough experience to get the sort of recommendation other tiers. Associates can deliver more differentiated and proven solutions when compared to the registered level. Executives are those that have a stand out proposition and are seen as ‘best in class’ with a proven ability to deliver.

The IoT partner programme includes working with firms including GE, SAP, Software AG, Microsoft, OSIsoft and others.

Dell also stressed that it would continue to build relationships with systems integrators that have vertical expertise.

 

HP Enterprise, Intel and Aruba team up

grandpa_simpson_yelling_at_cloudFormer maker of expensive printer ink, HP Enterprise (HPE) has announced a new IoT and Aruba solutions package aimed at better cloud data collection, analysis and beacon management.

The move will help HP partners come up with IoT packages for big corporate clients.

Dubbed Edgeline IoT Systems, the new product line is a joint venture between HPE and Intel. Two devices, Systems 10 and 20 are available in rugged, mobile and rack-mounted versions and sit at the gateways at the network edge. Built around Microsoft’s Azure IoT Suite they will run Windows 10 IoT for industrial, logistics, transportation, healthcare, government and retail applications.

System EL10 is tailored to  entry-level deployments, EL20 comes with more features for higher compute capabilities and quick deployments. It’s can handle higher volumes. Both run on HPE’s Moonshot.

Aruba has released a cloud-based beacon management solution aimed at multivendor Wi-Fi networks.

The IoT Aruba Sensor crosses a  Wi-Fi client and BLE radio, so that users can remotely manage Aruba Beacons across wi-fi networks on a  Meridian cloud.

The new sensors are meant to help companies introduce location-based services.

HPE Edgeline IoT Systems are available now in the US and Aruba sensors are now available to order.

Distributors take aim at services market

truckThe CEO of Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) pitched services as a key element of distributors profitability.

Speaking at the Canalys Channels Forum, Curran said the GTDC has 19 members totally $135 billion in global sales and covering 95 percent of the planet.
He said: “We asked the GTDC executives how big the channel opportunity for the internet of things was, and they think it’s a good thing.Distributors will enable partners to understand the internet of things.”

Distributors will be able to provide a geographic reach, scale things with a variable cost infrastructure, and be able to look at things with multiple vendors.

But distribution as a service is taking off, he said. Distribution isn’t just about packing boxes and sending them off, he claimed and produced a long list of services disties offer. Distribution has been good at doing “the smelly things” like credit checks, credit cards and compliance checks.

The group collects information on distribution covering a billion dollars of data a week. He said sales in all major Western European countries are improving.

GDTC trains vendors how to learn about distribution and how to avoid common mistakes.

Curran led five executives onto the stage from disties inluding Azlan, Tarsus, Logicom, Arrow, and Avnet.

A chap from Logicom said it was important for both the channel and the vendors align themselves to bring IoT stuff to market. The Arrow chap said vendors create the room but won’t relinquish their services. Azlan’s Simon England said vendors want to keep control but we (distributors) should be considered as service providers.

Graeme Watt from Avnet said disties were sales, marketing and service companies too.

Services is extreme;y important, said Watt, but it is difficult to persuade vendors and resellers how it can help them.

He said Avnet had been in channel conflicts over services, but that wasn’t the company’s intent. Resellers don’t have to take Avnet’s services. “Where we’ve encountered conflict we’ve either stepped aside or developed “teaming arrangements.””

IoT needs to be sold to enterprises

map-of-internetBeancounters at IDC think that the Internet of Things is an important strategic move for companies and resellers need to convince them.

IDC said that the Internet of Things (IoT) was gaining traction in a number of verticals and is now seen as “strategic to the enterprise.”

The analyst asked  2,350 IT and business decision makers in 15 countries such as Brazil, China and Germany, and found that 73 percent of respondents have deployed or are planning on deploying IoT solutions in the next 12 months.

The survey found that 58 per cent of respondents believe IoT is “a strategic initiative”; while 24 percent see it as “transformative”. Healthcare is ahead of the overall awareness, with 72 percent of those surveyed seeing it as strategic in this field. Transportation and manufacturing followed with 67 percent and 66 percent respectively.

The analyst found that government is behind the overall awareness, and “often needs clarification around the IoT basics”.

Vernon Turner, senior vice president of IoT at IDC, said: “IoT momentum continues to grow and our survey shows that it is seen as strategic to the enterprise.”

IDC’s survey found that security was a key problem for IoT, as “upfront and ongoing costs have become the top challenges”.