Game changers: 4G/LTE; DIY M2M; BYOD

Where would we be without acronyms? These three alone represent game-changing developments. Bob Emmerson reports and throws in the Cloud for good measure.

The first acronym, which comes from the cellular communications community, could have been created in order to spread confusion. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution: it’s a goal that will deliver high data rates and other communications goodies. LTE networks are being rolled out but they are not 4G, although that is the way they and LTEcompliant devices are being marketed. LTE is really 3.9G and admittedly that isn’t going to grab your attention. Real 4G networks come with LTE Advanced. OK. Does it matter and why is it a game-changing development?

It matters because the industry has a history of being economical with the truth and this is the latest example. Did 3G deliver a 2Mbps data rate? Did it deliver CD-quality sound? No on both counts, which means that I am somewhat skeptical about the promised 4G functionality. But it is a game changer because the new networks are all-IP and they employ a new core that is very efficient.

When voice is packetised, which it is on wireline networks, you can do amazing things. Skype calls are either free or cheap and you can do chat, conferencing (including video), messaging, and leave voice mail. The functionality comes from the fact that packetised voice is just another data type to a computer and it can be processed in any way that makes marketing sense. For example, a map display on your shiny new smartphone could flag to the location of colleagues and buddies. Click on the relevant icon and a call is initiated. We can expect to see zillions of so-called Mashup apps coming to the market.

You can do Skype on 3G networks, but call quality will be high-definition on 4G and we can expect devices to be preloaded with this app, so you can set it to be the default service. It’s going to be very hard for operators to compete with Skype and the other OTT (over the top) players. But will subscribers care? No, they won’t.

DIY M2M: a double whammy

M2M connects devices, systems and people and turns data based on physical parameters into real-time, actionable information. This communications sector has been amazingly successful, despite the sad state of the econ-

omy in recent years. Solutions are working away in myriad ‘vertical’ industries. A bird’s eye view of an urban environment would typically include healthcare, metering, asset management, payments, location-based services, security, industrial automation and more.

They’re ‘vertical’ because they operate in a silo, i.e. they are not an integral part of a company’s mainstream ICT environment.

The architecture of the silo model is not an efficient way to communicate and it’s also a barrier to further development. It’s inefficient because the same wheel is reinvented for different applications, even when they are for the same sector. And it’s a barrier because business processes employ a horizontal model, which has a common system architecture that enables component sharing.

That scenario is changing rapidly and a key integration enabler is ‘MSM in the Cloud’. There is broad agreement on a new architecture as well as M2M service capabilities. They provide: functions that can be shared by different applications; exposure of functionality via open interfaces; use of core network functionality; and simplified, optimised application development and deployment. This combination will allow M2M applications to migrate from the current vertical silo model and adopt the horizontal model of mainstream computing. And the relatively new ability to share functional components will allow M2M to become an integral part of the direction in which enterprise ICT environments are moving, i.e. cloud computing.

So where does DIY (do it yourself) come in? ICT management needs to manage the corporate environment and silo solutions are, by definition, isolated islands. The developments outlined in the previous paragraph facilitate management, but there is a more ambitious goal, namely the ability to own a rapid application creation and deployment platform.

A tall order but do-able

The single, most important development right now is the creation of M2M solutions that are standards-based, open, and cloudcentric. However, in order for these solutions to be accepted as an integral, desirable and robust constituent of an enterprise’s environment more is needed.

CTOs and ICT management would obviously want to be able to manage this new constituent and ideally they would welcome a platform that would also enable applications to be created in-house. That said, the process would have to be done by programmers who do not have M2M know-how and experience, and the exercise would be pointless unless it could be done in short time frames. Do that and development costs are reduced and much shorter ROIs are realised.

Those enterprise requirements sound like a very tall order, but they are do-able. Eurotech, for example, has created the requisite software framework, but it is clear that this relatively small company cannot carry this innovative concept forward on its own: nor can it undertake projects that require systems integration skills and resources. What’s needed is a community effort — a new M2M ecosystem that includes heavy hitters like IBM and Intel: companies that operate in the enterprise space and that are respected and trusted.

One such community effort is the M2M Industry Working Group at the Eclipse Foundation, which is a not-for-profit, open source Website. IBM and Eurotech are members. The inclusion of IBM’s systems integration resources and experience is significant. Another is the Eclipse Koneki project.

Eurotech employs a similar concept to that of figure 1 but takes it to a higher level. This vendor has developed a software framework that comprises the generic components that are employed in most M2M applications. In addition, there are component bundles that address the typical need of specific vertical market applications. This results in a solution that allows IT to customise these apps using Java. The software framework also allows

Figure 1. This schematic visualizes M2M’s transition from a vertical, stand-alone architecture to one that is in line with the horizontal model of an enterprise environment. Note that the common application interface plays a key role in the rapid creation of new applications Figure 2. One security strategy is to adopt a ‘sandbox approach’. This involves storing enterprise data and applications that are encrypted and password protected in one part of the device. The remaining files, e.g. music, videos, and photos are retained and made available to users that are not logged onto the corporate network.

Pipe (vertical) Horizontal (based on common Layer)

Business Application

Business Application #1

Business Application #2

Business Application #3

Transport Network (mobile, fixed, Powerline..)

Gateway

Local NW

Device Common Application Infrastructure

Transport Network 1 Transport Network 2

Gateway IP

Local NW

Device Device Device Device

enterprises to add, amend and drop M2M services in line with changing requirements.

That was a very short take on a gamechanging development.

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

Right now there’s a lot of security noise being generated about BYOD – Bring Your Own Device. IT management doesn’t like smartphones but they can’t stop them coming into the company and being used on the corporate environment. These days employees have the upper hand. It’s ICT democracy in action. But I’m old enough to recall the time when PCs entered our lives and IT didn’t like them one little bit. When dumb terminals accessed IBM mainframe computers IT was in control. They had absolute power. Where would we be today if that kind of ICT dictatorship had prevailed?

The seemingly obvious solution to making BYOD work for the enterprise would be to allow the smartphone to maintain dual personalities—you log in as your non-work persona, and you get all your personal settings; or you log in as your work persona and get an entirely separate interface that’s walled off from the personal side. That work persona is completely managed and controlled by your corporate IT department.

Split personalities are enabled by a software security mechanism: a ‘sandbox’. That’s the popular term and it’s visualised in figure 2. In real life sandboxes are wide open, so it’s a somewhat unfortunate term and it only works if the users follow corporate guidance. There is a wall between the business data and the user’s personal data, but stepping over to the latter side is easy and it can be done without thinking, e.g. by visiting Apple’s tempting Apps Store while using the phone or tablet at work. And as in so many other ICT areas, expert opinions are divided: some back the concept; others see it as an intermediate solution.

Be pragmatic

There is an obvious need to minimise breaches of security but this task goes beyond simply securing the technologies. Solutions have to be pragmatic and relevant to the processes they are going to protect, so there may be tradeoffs. Users have to work with the solution and if usage is too complex or cumbersome it won’t be effective. For example, if corporate policies are too restrictive users may look for ways of circumventing them.

This means that C-level management should take a more active role as security shifts from being technology centric to business risk centric. Security decisions should involve business-level discussions and management is in the best position when it comes to determining the risks involved. And the biggest security risk may turn out to be a disgruntled employee.

Conclusions

Mobile Network Operators are investing zillions in 4G networks but the ROI is problematic. KPN, the largest Dutch telecom company, is reporting product substitution by its customers. Smart phone subscribers are substituting non-revenue or low revenue product substitutes for the operator’s voice and text messaging services. LTE-enabled devices will accelerate this trend.

Meanwhile, M2M is on a gigantic roll. We’re in a sweet spot. Wireless data services are high-speed, affordable and ubiquitous. Now we have powerful handheld computers (smart phones). And there are new mobile applications that integrate with mainstream business processes.

And virtualisation — a Cloud-centric technology — can be used to securely isolate apps with different trust levels, quarantine compromised apps and protect sensitive business data. IT is put back in charge of the enterprise environment and as long as they also supply the apps and applets that digital natives expect, then BYOD issues should disappear. Yes, maybe that is an oversimplification, but it shouldn’t be beyond the wit of man to deliver something similar. n