Tag: IoT

Dell starts IoT partner programme

Posted on April 25, 2016 by - News, Products

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

Posted on December 4, 2015 by - News

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.

Resellers can make a bomb from connected cars

Posted on June 22, 2015 by - News

Vintage & Classic Car Salvage Yards and Wrecks (11)Connected cars are a key area for resellers as drivers are demanding that their cars have internet functions.

Cognizant Global Head of Innovation, Manufacturing & Logistics Satyavolu Prasad told the Dutch magazine Channel Web that linking technology vehicles, through ‘smart’ devices and the changing lifestyle of consumers has changed the driving experience.

“The car is becoming an extension of the consumer, because drivers expect the same experience on the move, and online connection they have a fixed location, “ Prasad said.

Resellers can find a lot of information in the field of connected cars which can help automakers in the shift to the digital world and connected cars.

The digital consumer experience, after all, is in the heart of the connected car and connected cars offer many opportunities for businesses, including resellers to generate new revenue.

These range from help apps on smartphones, to systems integration by using social, mobile, analytics and cloud (SMAC) technologies.

Back-office integration and analysis services provide opportunities for resellers and finally convergence solutions in all sectors, Prasad said. He said that manufacturers will have to apply new technologies to jump in on connected cars.

Manufacturers are investing billions of dollars in telematics and similar technologies and they must be sure that they are aligned with supply chain and implementation processes.

The system is increasingly dependent on electronic ecosystem of manufacturers. Therefore resellers advise customers to enter into partnerships so that different customer profiles and segments can be mapped. They also recommend creating technology infrastructure to develop robust industrial capabilities and customer-focused apps that support the connected car, Prasad said.

Salesforce strengthens hold on wearables

Posted on June 17, 2015 by - News

Salesforce logoAccounting software outfit Salesforce has made another move into wearable computers by giving cash to APX Labs.

APX makes software for wearables used at work and Salesforce has made investment through its venture capital arm, SalesForce Ventures.

According to a Washington Business Journal report, “APX Labs has raised another $10 million in venture capital, a round that includes new investors SalesForce Ventures and SineWave Ventures”. However, it is still not clear how much each company has invested.

APX Labs’ wearable tech software is mostly used in heavy industries like energy, telecommunications, automotive and aerospace. The app is believed to improve the entire workflow of the companies with its various features like, contract approval and sending email with just a tap.

Salesforce has always encouraged wearable devices. So by investing in APX Labs, the company is trying to strengthen its position in the wearable tech software space.

Over the past few years, Salesforce made several investments in startup businesses either through acquisitions or partnership arrangements. The most recent one was the buyout of smart calendar app, Tempo, from Tempo AI.

Salesforce will use Tempo’s technology or its engineering talent to develop new products or improvise on the existing ones.

 

Osborne backs the internet of things

Posted on March 19, 2015 by - News

gosborneGeorge Osborne, the UK chancellor of the exchequer, has promised to throw £40 million into research into the internet of things (IoT). He made the announcement during yesterday’s 2015 budget speech in the House of Commons.

And, in addition, Osborne said that it will spend a further £100 million in R&D on smart cities and future infrastructure in the UK.

Osborne said the UK government was still committed to improving net connections and wants to spend £600 million for better networks and ultrafast broadband across the UK.

The government is also spending money on looking at digital currency and improving wi-fi connections in public places.

Osborne said the IoT would connect everything from urban transport to medical devices to household appliances.

The £40 million will be used to create business incubators for startups that will work on the government’s smart cities initiative.

The tech industry is investing hundreds of millions in IoT applications, but so far there is a distinct lack of standardisation and there are worries about security when billions of devices are all potentially connected to each other.

Standards start for the internet of things

Posted on March 10, 2015 by - News

Internet of ThingsWhile there’s no doubt that in the next few years things ain’t what they used to be, and everything will be connected, there’s a distinct lack of standards right now.

But, according to a report from heavyweight analyst Frost & Sullivan (F&S), the move to standardise the IoT is taking shape.

It said a number of standardisation bodies in Europe and the US are working towards standard privacy policies and how devices will work together.

F&S said a committee has been formed by the European Telecommunications Standard Institute to work on machine to machine privacy standardisation.

And the Open Automative Alliance is a group of car companies and tech partners working worldwide to create a standard Android platform so that cars and mobiles will work together.

Analyst Svapnadeep Nayak said IoT needs an open architecture and worries enterprises worry because they want to maintain the integrity of their data.

Kayak thinks that by using a common cloud infrastructure with one application programming interface (API) for all sectors, IoT will bring down the costs of deployment and improve the efficiency of data streaming from gadgets and devices everywhere.

HP joins the Internet of Things bandwagon

Posted on February 27, 2015 by - News

HPMajor vendors have convinced themselves that the Internet of Things (IoT) is the next big thing, and the latest to join the band is Hewlett Packard.

HP said its own version of IoT will allow organisations to manage different sets of IoT sensors, analyse data and use vertical applications on machine to machine devices.

It also claimed to have introduced the first vertical application called the HP Energy Management Pack.

The packages are aimed at communications service providers (CSPs) and is essentially remote management to discover devices, configure the devices and control IoT traffic.

The HP Energy Management Pack is intended to allow the CSPs to give secure home automation and energy control to people, to industries and to councils.

For example, Oxford City Council might want to remotely manage public lights based on profiles, emergencies and on weather conditions. And the pack might let “smart cities” manage parking using sensors.

 

Enterprises will adopt internet of things

Posted on February 23, 2015 by - News

Internet of ThingsA report commissioned by Verizon looks today at enterprise adoption of the internet of things (IoT).

While only 10 percent of organisations currently are using IoT extensively, that picture will rapidly change.

Verizon said it saw a 45 percent increase in its IoT business last year, and a 135 percent increase in activations using 4G LTE, year on year.

The highest growth sector is manufacturing which saw a 204 percent increase in 2014, but other sectors are showing big growth figures too – finance and insurance experienced a 128 percent increase and media and entertainment 120 percent increase.

Verizon has a dedicated IoT VP. Mark Bartolomeo said: “IoT covers a multitude of solutions from wearable devices, to remote monitoring of energy management devices to industrial transportation.”

He said Verizon has seen a number of new entrants creating an IoT “roadmap”.

Currently, Verizon estimates that by 2020 there will be around 5.4 billion connections globally.

Organisations anticipate internet of things

Posted on February 4, 2015 by - News

Internet of ThingsAlthough there’s still a clear lack of standards with different vendors vying to take the lead, many organisations are getting ready for the internet of things (IoT).
Companies including Intel, Qualcomm, Google and others want to have a big stake in the future of IOT.
And there’s no doubt the hype is generating interest.
That’s the conclusion of market research company Gartner which said in a study that 40 percent of businesses think the IoT will have a “significant” impact in the next three years.
Nick Jones, a senior analyst at Gartner, said: “Only a small minority has deployed solutions in a production environment. However, the falling costs of networking and processing mean that there are few economic inhibitors to adding sensing and communications to products costing as little as a few tens of dollars”.
But even though many organisations are anticipating the IoT, few have put executives in leadership roles.
The main concerns of the  people surveyed are security and privacy.  And there is a shortage of people with the relevant skills to plot the future.

 

Google Glass killed off

Posted on January 16, 2015 by - News

Google's Eric "Google Glass" SchmidtGoogle is ending sales of its Google Glass eyewear, but insists that it will launch the smart glasses as a consumer product one of these days.

Google said that it will instead focus on “future versions of Glass” with work carried out by a different division to before.

But it means that the Explorer programme, which gave software developers the chance to buy Glass for $1,500 will close.

It had been expected that once developers wrote some code to run on Glass it would be followed reasonably quickly by a full consumer launch.

However that did not happen and some feared that it would be it would be left in one of Google’s Beta hells for a thousand years.

Now it seems that that the Glass team will also move out of the Google X division which engages in “blue sky” research, and become a separate undertaking, under its current manager Ivy Ross.

Ross and the Glass team will report to Tony Fadell, the chief executive of the home automation business Nest, acquired by Google a year ago.

Fadell told the BBC   that the project had “broken ground and allowed us to learn what’s important to consumers and enterprises alike” and he was excited to be working with the team “to integrate those learnings into future products”.

Google says it is committed to working on the future of the product, but is not giving any timescale when we will see it or see through it. Intel had pledged to support Google Glass – Tesco launched a Google Glass app earlier this week.

Go figure….

 

EMC warns of the perils of masses of small data

Posted on January 12, 2015 by - News

zxzzzzd1Guy Churchward, head of EMC’s $20-billion core technologies division, has warned that small data is going to cause even bigger headaches than the big stuff.

Taking to the Economic Times  Churchward said that data challenges for the Internet of Things or driverless cars were huge,

He said that millions of driverless cars, and billions of other internetconnected devices will not be Big Data. “What you have is not big data, it is actually `small data’ – because what it is, is billions and billions of small data objects.”

EMC expects IoT to create a sprawl of billions of autonomous devices, which will create security, storage and management nightmares in future.

Churchward warned that  “small data sprawl” will take the challenges of Big Data and make them 100x more difficult.

Security, storage, management and applications would be completely different in a world filled with billions of devices, each of which will have its own big data. None of the currently available tools and applications would work in such environments.

Part of EMC’s over $2.3-billion research and development budget is being used to address this `small data’ problem but the company thinks that it will take between three to five years to start bearing fruit.

 

Internet of Things “is already here”

Posted on December 5, 2014 by - News

Internet of ThingsA report commissioned by Verizon suggests that rather than being science fiction, the Internet of Things (IoT) is already here and producing business results.

Verizon commissioned the Harvard Business Review to conduct a report and that suggested the IoT is already here in the shape of connectivity, cloud computing, and miniaturisation of sensors “making it possible” for over 10 billion devices to be networked.

Nevertheless, HBR’s Analytic Services surveyed 269 business leaders and says the number of deployments is still relatively small.

While estimates say that IoT could add 10s of trillions of dollars to GDP in the next 10 years, HBR says defining it goes way beyond wearable devices, smart meters and connected cars.

The survey, conducted last September on early IoT adopters, concludes those using it were doing so to improve customer services, increase revenues from services and products, better using assets in the field, and picking up additional data for analytics.

Applications include asset tracking, security, fleet management, field force management, energy data management and “condition based monitoring”.

There are challenges to adopting IoT that include pivacy and regulatory compliance.  HBR said most legislation and industry regulations predates the use of IoT.  Managing the sheer amount of data will also be a problem, and finding people with skill sets capable of using IoT data.

The report said in healthcare, Varian, a manufacturer of medical devices, says the IoT meant a 50 percent reduction to repair connected devices.  Pirelli is using the IoT to manage data from sensors embedded in its Cyber Tyre range.  And Ford’s Connected Car Dashboards programme collects and analyses data from cars to better understand driving patterns and behicle performance.

Internet of things war hots up

Posted on November 27, 2014 by - News

Internet of ThingsA wave of consolidation in the internet of things (IoT) market is assured in the next few years.

That’s according to financial company Hampleton Partners, which said in a report that vendors have spent over $9 billion in the marketplace in the last few years in a bid to put their stake in the ground.

And early players in that market include Google, Samsung, Verizon and others.  Apple wants to make a play in the market too.

In the next year, Hammpleton thinks that other companies will make acquistions in the next year or so to get into a market estimated to be worth many billions by the end of the decade.

Those include Intel, TI, Texas Instruments and AT&T.

One of the problems is that when there are countless devices equipped with semiconductors and the ability to be connected to the internet, is that there are few standards and so far few attempts to create such standards.

Estimates vary about the number of devices connected by the end of the decade but it’s certain the number will be in tens of billions.  Each device, however, will cost very little – money to be made will be in the way such things are interconnected and structured.

The internet of things is here in droves

Posted on November 11, 2014 by - News

Internet of ThingsNext year there will be 4.9 billion connected “things” – that is connected semiconductors with IP (internet protocol) connectivity.

But this is only the beginning, according to research from the Gartner Group.  It said that there will be 25 billion such devices in 2020 and next year’s figure of 4.9 billion is up 30 percent from this year.

Jim Tully, a VP at Gartner, said: “The digital shift instigated by the nexus of forces such as cloud, mobile, social and information, and boosed by the internet of things (IoT) threatens many existing businesses.  They have no choice but to pursue IoT, like they’ve done with the consumerisation of IT.”

Gartner estimates that the IoT will support $69.5 billion of service revenues in 2015 and a staggering $263 billion by 2020.

Tully estimates that the automotive industry will show the highest growth rate at 96 percent in 2015. This table shows how it believes things will pan out up to 2020.
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There are security implications here.  Gartner thinks that by the end of 2017, over 20 percent of organisations will have digital security services protecting devices and services in the internet of things.