Today,wearegoingthroughtheeraofdigital transformation.Mostoftheinformationor dataisnowavailableindigitalformandcan beeasilyextractedfromanywherethroughthe internet.Datamaybestoredinself-owneddata infrastructuresorthirdpartydatacentersorclouds. Thisdatamaycontainpersonalinformation,the organization’sinformation,books,videos,critical secretinformation,andmanymore.Thishugedatais givingbirthtolotsofopportunitiesandsolutionssuch asBigData&Analytics,ArtificialIntelligence,and more.Moreover,itdemandshigh-speedinternetfor thishugedatatransfer.Thishasmadehumansto constantlyinnovateandimproveinternet infrastructuresothatthereshouldbelesstimelagin datasharing.Asaneffect,wecanseetherapid advancementsinwirelesstechnologytoday.
Wirelesstechnologyhasimprovedlotwithinthelast twodecadesandhastotallychangedourlifestyle. Next-generationtechnologiessuchas4Gand5Gare providinginternetfacilitiesatveryhighspeedin additiontoeffectiveutilizationofresources.Easy availabilityofhigh-speedwirelessinternetand technologiessuchasGPSarevastlysimplifyingdaily humanlife.Routinehumanactivitiessuchas; shopping,traveling,banking,marketing,etc.have becomesoeasyandcanbeperformedonthe fingertips.Thishugetechnologicalshiftislargely carriedoutbytechnologycalledInternetofThings (IoT).
IoTisconnectinghumanswithhumans,humanswith machinesandmachineswithmachinesinrealtime usingtheinternetsothateverythingcanbetracked, controlledandoperatedremotely.IoTiseliminating
thephysicalhumanpresencetoperformanyspecifictaskorinspectthatspecifictask.IoTiseasingthewayof doingbusinessforindustriessuchastransportation,marketing,manufacturing,medical,agriculture,tourism,and more.SmartHomes,SmartCities,Smartappliances,AutonomousVehicles,Drones,etc.aremainlybasedon IoT.Inadditiontothat,itisalsohelpingtotrackpetsandwildanimals,especially;itwillassisttopreserve wild-life.IntroductionofsmartvoicecontrolleddevicesbybigtechnologicalgiantsarealsousingIoTand analyticsfortheireffectiveworking.
Now,IoThasbecomeoneoftheimportantpartsofhumanlifethatmakingIoTsolutionproviderstoinnovate moreandintroducemoreeffectivesolutionsandproducts.ManyIoTsolutioncompaniesareresponsibly transformingtheIoTspacewiththeiruniqueofferingsandproducts.Wehavehighlightedmanysuchcompanies inourspecialissue,“The10MostInnovativeIoTcompaniestowatch2018”.Onthecoveroftheissuewe have,AlliedTelesis: Delivering Secure and Reliable, Next-Generation IoT & SDN-Ready Networks
Leveragingexperienceofoverthirtyyears,AlliedTelesishasbeenattheforefrontofservingtheneedsofthe networkcommunicationsindustry.ThecompanydeliversintelligenttechnologiessuchasAMF(Autonomous ManagementFramework)tomanageandcontrolnetworks–bothlargeandsmall–thatsimplifiesthe deploymentofnetworks.Italsoreducestheburdenofon-goingmanagementwhichisparticularlyimportantas thenumberofconnecteddevicesriseswiththegrowthinIoTdeployments.Thesetechnologiesareembedded withinthefirms’portfolioofnetworkingandcommunicationsproductsthatareusedinabroadrangeof embeddedsystems.Thesesystemscanbefoundeverywherefrommanufacturingfacilitieswithcollectionsof connectedPLC’sandothersensorsto Smart Buildings andSmartCitieswhereeverythingthroughoutthe buildingoracrossthecityisconnected.
TakayoshiOshimafoundedAlliedTelesis,asubsidiaryofTelesisHoldingK.KinMarch1987andhasbeenits ChairmanandCEOsince1987.PriortotheestablishmentofAlliedTelesis,heheldtechnical,marketingand managerialpositionswithcompaniesspearheadingthegrowthofthehigh-technologyindustryincludingITT, FairchildCameraInstruments,andAdvancedMicroDevices.HewasrecentlyelectedtotheMineta TransportationInstituteBoardofTrustees.
Also,wehaveinterviewedChristianGötz,Co-founderandCEOofdc-square.Hehasgivenhisinsightful viewsaboutthecurrentIoTdevelopments.Healsosharedmanyimportantdetailsabouthowdc-squarehelps companiestogainacompetitiveadvantagebyconnectingtheirproductsovertheinternet.
Afterdoingin-depthresearch,wehaveenlistedsomespecialcompaniesfromtheglobewhoaresuccessfully fulfillingtheworld’sIoTdemandsexclusively.EDRMedeso: Assisting Clients in Attaining Perfect Engineering, andMultiTech: Industrial Communications Hardware for the Internet of Things.Whilegoingthroughour magazinedon’tmissouthighlyinformativearticlessuchas Blockchain Technology is Boosting the Prospects of ‘Smart Contracts’ and Advanced ‘Content Streaming’, How Startups Can Capitalize on IoT's New Co-Economy, and more
HappyReading!
Suhel Mashayak
Takayoshi Oshima Chairman & CEO
Today,wecanobservetherapidtransformationin thebusinessworldwithcontinuousadvancements intechnologiesandincreasedcustomer expectations.Organizationsarechangingatan ever-increasingrateandbusinessesarefacinganuphill battletoadapttochange,andtostayaheadofthe competition.Atthesametime,citiesareincreasingly becomingpopulated;andwiththisgrowth,issuessuchas demandonresourcesandpublicsafetybecomeakeyfocus forgovernmentandcivicleaders.Today,morethanany othertime,organizationsneedatechnologypartnerthathas boththevisionandthecapabilitytotakenetwork communicationstowheretheyneedthemtobe.
Leveragingexperienceofoverthirtyyears,AlliedTelesis hasbeenattheforefrontofservingtheneedsofthenetwork communicationsindustry.Theydeliverintelligent technologiessuchasAMF(AutonomousManagement Framework)tomanageandcontrolnetworks–bothlarge andsmall–thatsimplifiesthedeploymentofnetworks.It alsoreducestheburdenofon-goingmanagementwhichis particularlyimportantasthenumberofconnecteddevices riseswiththegrowthinIoTdeployments.These technologiesareembeddedwithinthefirms’portfolioof networkingandcommunicationsproductsthatareusedina broadrangeofembeddedsystems.Thesesystemscanbe foundeverywherefrommanufacturingfacilitieswith collectionsofconnectedPLC’sandothersensorsto Smart Buildings andSmartCitieswhereeverythingthroughoutthe buildingoracrossthecityisconnected.
Today'sIoTdevicesareincreasinglyconnectedbywireless servicesandAlliedTelesishasanextensivearrayofboth
wiredandwirelessproducts,whichmeansorganizations canhaveasupplierrelationshipwithoneorganizationthat isabletomeetalltheirnetworkingneeds.
ThenameAlliedTelesisistakenfromtheLatin allied (united)and Telesis (progress)whichmakesitan organizationthatismovingforwardcontinuously.Thefirm hasbeendeliveringnetworkingandcommunication solutionstosupportembeddedapplicationsandsystemsfor overthirtyyears,evenbeforetheterm Internet of Things or IoT waseverused.
Today,thefirmisengagedinsomeofthemostadvanced andinnovativenext-generationnetworkresearch,focusing itseffortsondevelopmentandproductionofmore intelligent,autonomouslycontrolledandmanagedsystems thatarerequiredtomeetthedemandsoftheInternetof Thingsandtomorrow’snetworks.
TakayoshiOshimafoundedAlliedTelesis,asubsidiaryof TelesisHoldingK.KinMarch1987andhasbeenits ChairmanandCEOsince1987.Priortotheestablishment ofAlliedTelesis,heheldtechnical,marketingand managerialpositionswithcompaniesspearheadingthe growthofthehigh-technologyindustryincludingITT, FairchildCameraInstruments,andAdvancedMicro Devices.HewasrecentlyelectedtotheMineta TransportationInstituteBoardofTrustees. OshimafoundedAlliedTelesiswithavisiontotransform theemergingdatanetworkingindustrywithhighlyreliable, standards-basedconnectivitysolutionsthatdelivervaluefor theircustomers.Todayunderhisleadership,thecorporation isaglobalsuccessstory,supplyinganexpanding internationalcustomerbasewithevermoresophisticated hardware,software,andservicessolutionsneededtobuild, operateandsecurethedatanetworksthatmakebusiness possible.
Thefirmisaone-stopIoTsolutionproviderandtakes responsibilityfortheservicesitdelivers.Itsbaseisstrong inallitsthreedomains:i.e. Hardware, Software,and Customer support.
Thesethreestiffbasesbuildthetrustwithintheircustomers whoknowthereisoneorganizationonwhichtheycan
We are committed to providing our customers with solutions designed and built to the highest standards and quality
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dependforalltheirrequirements-theyknowthatthe responsibilitylieswithAlliedTelesiswhenitmatters most.
Thefirms'focushasalwaysbeenaboutsmart networkinganddeliveringtechnologythathelpsto simplifytheprocessofdeployingnetworkswhile maintainingahighdegreeofsecurity.Anexample ofthisisdeliveringtechnologythatcanautomate orcontinuouslyoptimizeawiredorwireless environmentwhichfreeshumanresourcesto focusonotheractivitieswhileatthesametime improvingconsistencyandreducinghumanerror.
Intermofsecurity,thecompany’sUTMfirewalls deliverahigh-performance,fullyfeatured securityplatformwithapowerfulfirewalland threatprotectioncapabilitythatisidealfor today'sconvergedandIoTenvironments.
NotonlydoesAlliedTelesisdelivercybersecuritysolutionsthroughtheirarrayofUTM firewallsandsecurityappliances,buttheyhavealso integratedotherinnovativesecuritysolutionssuchas ActiveFiberMonitoring(AFM)intotheirportfolioof products.AFMallowsanalerttobegeneratedupon tamperingorinterceptionwithfiberinfrastructurewhichis criticalgiventhevolumesofdatabeingtransmittedtoday andtheincreasingrelianceonfiberfortransmission. OneoftheotherbenefitsofpartneringwithAlliedTelesisis theserviceandsupportthatisdeliveredbyitsprofessional
‘‘ ‘‘ Our hard-earned reputation for standards-based performance, product reliability and value has remained constant
servicesteamensuringcustomersmakethemostoftheir investmentintechnologyfromthefirm.
Accordingtothefirm,asIoTdevicesareincreasinglybeing connectedwirelessly,wirelesstechnologyhasbecomea particularareaofimportance.Whilethewirelessstandards suchasIEEE 802.11n andIEEE 802.11ac delivermore speedforasingleuserordevice,theydonotovercome today'sunderlyingchallengesofcell-basedwireless technology.Assuch,AlliedTelesishasdevelopedan innovativerangeofwirelessproductsandtechnologythat helpstoovercomethechallengesofcell-basedwireless technologybyusingsingle-channelarchitecture.Itdelivers seamlessroamingandfargreaterreliabilitythantraditional cell-basedwirelesssolutions.
Inaddition,fororganizationsthatneedtouseacell-based architecture,thefirmdeliversahybridwirelesssolution whereacell-basedarchitecturecanbeusedforsome applicationsandasinglechannelarchitecture,whichmeans organizationsdonotneedtocompromisewhenitcomesto performanceandreliability.
Thefirmisalsoobservingorganizationsthatareembracing convergence.Previously,anorganizationwoulddeploy separatenetworksforSCADA,CCTV,IPtelephonyand corporateapplications,however,todayorganizationsdeploy asingleconvergednetworktosupportalloftheir InformationTechnology(IT)andOperationalTechnology (OT)systems.
Withpeople,devicesandotherthingsbeingincreasingly connectedandthevalueoftheinformationbeingcollected growing,securityneedstobegivengreateremphasisthanit currentlyis.AlliedTelesishasarangeofinnovative productsandtechnologiesthathavebeentailoredforuse withembeddedapplicationsandIoTenvironments.
Thefirmstronglyadvisestreatingthecustomerlikepartners inbusinessratherthanjustsupplierstobusiness.Inorderto maximizethebenefits,agoodsharingofknowledgeboth backwardandforwardedbetweenorganizationsmustexist sothateveryonecanmakethemostofeveryopportunity. Thefirmstatesthat“All too often we see organizations that hold their suppliers at arm's length and treat them as just that – suppliers. And in many cases, this results in a missed
opportunity to gain more from whatever deployment of change is being undertaken”.Earlier,closerengagement canseeorganizationslikeAlliedTelesistoprovidepractical andvaluableadvicethatcanpotentiallyreducecosts, increasefunctionalityordecreaseriskorpossiblyallabove mentioned.
Withtheriseof Big Data and Cloud Computing, organizationswillcontinuetoseethesizeofspeedsand feedsincreasing.Where40Gand100Ginthepastwould haveseemedlikealmostlimitlessintermsofcapacity, tomorrowtheindustrywillseetheseascommonplace withinthebackboneofmanynetworks.
Thefirmbelievesthatwhiletheportdensityandbandwidth ofdeviceswillcontinuetoincrease,thetrulyinteresting developmentsinthefutureintermsoffeaturesand functionalitywillcomefromsoftwarefeaturesthatwill helpinsolvingreal-worldbusinesschallenges.These challengesmayrevolvearoundagilityandflexibilityand ensuringthatthenetworkcanchangeandadapttodifferent trafficpatternsorasorganizationsneedittochangeorthey maybearoundthecostandcomplexityofmanaging technologyinfrastructure.
AlliedTelesisalsoexpectclosercouplingofapplications andtheunderlyinginfrastructuresothepipesthatcarry informationordataaroundanorganizationhaveabetter understandingofwhatthatdataisandcanmakesmarter decisionsaboutthatdata.Thisallleadsintotherealmof Intent-Based Networking (IBN)alongwith Software Defined Networking (SDN),whichhavetheabilityto redefinethebenefitsthatthetechnologycandeliver.
Our solutions based philosophy, produces products that deliver value to our customers
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Today,InternetofThings(IoT)istransformingthewholeworldbymakingmanyofourday-to-daytasksso simpleandeasilycontrollablewithoutphysicalpresence.SomeoftheexamplesofcurrenttrendingIoT solutionsare;connectedcars,smarthomes,autonomousvehicles,dronesandmanymore.IoTsolutions companiesarebecomingpopularandvaluablewiththeirfuturisticapproachanduniquesolutions. dc-squareisoneofthemostinnovativecompaniesintheIoTspaceandleadingexpertinconnectingproducts(e.g. devices,machines,devices,andapps)withMQTT,thede-factocommunicationstandardprotocolfortheIoT.
InaninterviewwithInsightsSuccess,ChristianGötz,Co-founderandCEOofdc-square,gavehisinsightful viewsaboutthecurrentIoTdevelopments.Healsosharedmanyimportantdetailsabouthow dc-square,helpscompaniestogainacompetitiveadvantagebyconnectingtheirproductsovertheinternet.
Q. Briefusaboutyourcompany.WhatkindofIoTsolutionsofferedbydc-squareatparwiththecurrent industrystandards?
dc-squareisasoftwarecompany,whichhelpsbusinessesaroundtheglobetoconnecttheirdevicesand applicationovertheinternetandtransformintodigitalbusinessesOurmainproductisthedatamovement platformHiveMQ.HiveMQmakesiteasytomovedatatoandfromconnecteddevicesinanefficient,fastand reliablemanner.ItisanEnterprise-readysolution,whichisbasedontheMQTTprotocol,thestandardprotocol inIoT.Wehaveover100customersusingHiveMQandrecentlywehavebeenawardedthe6thplaceinthe TechnologyFast50listbyDeloitteGermany.
Q. Tellussomethingaboutyou.
I’mtheCEOatdc-squareandparticularlyresponsibleforthesuccessofourcurrentandfuturecustomers.With atechnicalbackgroundincomputerscience,Ihavethenecessarytechnicalqualificationtounderstandour customersonadeeperlevelandadditionallyclearlyidentifytheirbusinesschallengesanddrivers.Thisenables me,aswellasourwholeteam,tobeanexpertwhenitcomestohelpingcustomerstoconnectwiththeir products.ThisisreallywhatIoTisabout,weenableourcustomerstousetheirexistingornewproducts,ina totallydifferentwayasbefore.
Q. WhatisthepresentstateoftheIoTsolutionindustry?Howareyoupositioningyourcompany?
Currently,therearealotofdifferentofferingsavailableandahugemarketopportunityaswell.Thekeyto successinIoTisthemovementofdatainanefficient,fastandreliableway.Oftensolutionsdonothavethese characteristics,especiallybearinginmindtheconstraintsofIoTdevices.Wearenotaverygenericplatformas
Christian Götz Co-founder & CEO
themostare;weareatrustedpartnerofmorethan100 customerssolvingtheirspecificchallengetoenabletheir productstoexchangedatainstantly.Weintegrateeasilyin allcommonenterprisesystems.
Q. Howcanyoudescribeyourcompanyinone sentence?
dc-squareisthecompanybehindHiveMQ,thedata movementplatformthatmakesiteasytomovedatato andfromconnecteddevicesinanefficient,fastand reliablemanner,makingitpossibletobuildconnected productsthatenablenewdigitalbusinesses.
Q.HowdidyougetinspiredtobecomeanIoTSolution provider?
WestartedbuildingHiveMQin2013,therewasnoIoT industryyet,itwascalledM2M(machine-to-machine communication).Wehaveseenthatconnecting machinesistotallydifferentfromconnectingpeople overtheinternetviawebsites.Thereforeothersolution andprotocolsareneeded.Wewantedtoofferasolution thatincorporatesanewandlightweighttechnology enablingnewbusinessmodelsbyhavingalightweight andpush-basedconnectionbetweenthedevicesandthe cloud.
Q.Tellussomethingaboutthebenefitsgainedbyyour clients/usersfromyou.
• Wehaveenabledconnectedcarsolutionsbyproviding instantdatamovement,costreduction,andimproved customerexperience.Forexample,reducingthetimefor unlockingacarfromover20secondstolessthanone second.
• 360-degreecustomerexperienceintheentertainment industrybyenablingnotificationsacrossdevicesand screensandremotecontrolofhomedeviceslikeTVs andset-upboxes.
• AcceleratemarketentryofIoTprojectsbyhandlingthe mostcriticalandimportantcomponentthedata movementfromandtoIoTdevicesinafastandreliable fashion.
• Enablenewbusinessmodelsduetothepush-basedand constantconnection.
Q.WiththeintroductionofnewtechnologieslikeAIand vastimprovementinwirelesstechnologies&telecom infrastructure,whatarethescopesandchallenges comingwithit?
AllthenewtechnologieslikeAIarestillinthevery beginning,sotherewillbealotofnewpossibilitiesfor companiestousethesetechnologiesinordertoprovide abetterproductfortheircustomers.Oneofthe challengeswilldefinitelybetotransferandprocessthe largeamountsofdata,whichwillriseupexponentially. Sohavingareliable,efficientandhighlyscalable solutiontoexchangethedataisthefoundationfor leveragingthepotentialofthesetechnologies.
Q. Whatcanbeexpectedfromyourcompanyinnear future?
Wearecurrentlygettingreadyforthenextchallenges ourcustomersarefacingandsolvingthembeforethey havethem.Weareonourjourneytoenableevenmore businessestoconnecttheirproductsbyprovidingnew versionsofourproductHiveMQandexpandingthe ecosystemarounditwithadditionalproductsandtools, tomakeiteasierthanevertodeployIoTsolutionswith 10.000.000+devices.Alsostarting2019wewillbe expandingourbusinessintheUS,withthehelpofthe GermanAcceleratorTech,wherewehavebeenoneof 14companiesselectedtoparticipatein.
Our aspiration is to bring your IoT vision to reality
InternetofThings(IoT)isoneofthekeytechnologiesintheFourthIndustrialRevolutionwhichpromisesto transformanddisruptourcurrentbusiness.It’slikea“doordie”thing.EventhoughKevinAshtonhavecoined theterm“IoT”in1999,it’sonlyfourto5yearsagothatweseeasuddenincreaseofrenewedinterestinIoT duetomultiplefactorssuchasthepriceofhardwarebecomingcheaper,communicationsbecomingmorepervasive, softwaredevelopmentbecomingmoreeasier,Moore’sLawdoublingthecomputingpowerandtheimpactof Metcalf’snetworkeffects.
Wearealsoseeingatransformationinthebusinessmodel.Initially,it’sallabouttechnology-based,product-based orservice-basedbusinessmodel.However,withIoT,wecanofferanewbusinessmodelbasedonoutcome.For example,Iwillpayyoursolutionifitcanguaranteetoreducemyelectricitybillby30%orpaymethisamountifI canguaranteeyouthatyourhealthcarecostsreduceby50%thisyear
Thenewbusinessposedgreatchallengesinceitrequiresenoughdataorinformationtomakeaparticulardecision. Thesedatacancomefromvarioussourcesincludingthesensordata.BuildinganIoTsolutionrequiresmanyparties tobeinvolvesinceeverypartoftheIoTvalue-chainrequiresspecializationsuchaschipsets,devices,connectivity, middleware,applications,dataanalyticsandsystemintegration.
BelowarethemainkeyfactorshowStartupcancapitalizeonIoT’snewco-economy:
1.Leveragetheiragility–Startupworkfasterthanmanybiggercompanies.Theyaremoreinnovativeandhave faster decisionprocess.SuccessfulStartupwillbenormallyacquiredbybiggercompaniestobepartoftheir wholeecosystem.
2.Specialistintheirownareas–Startupisexcellentinoneortwothings.Theyhavetheknowledgedepthin specificarea.Theycanbeaverygoodpartnerandtofillthegaprequiredbyabiggerproject.
3.Capturingtheimmaturemarket–IoTisstillataninfancystagebuthavegreatpotential.Withtheuseofcloud, IoTservicescanbereachworldwide.AsmartbuildingorsmartparkingsolutioncanhavetheirIoTmiddleware residesacrosstheworld.
4.Thinkbigbutstartsmall–IoThavefourmaturityphases.InmanyIoTimplementationjourney,wecanstart withassimpleasmonitoringandlatertowardscontrol.Asweincludemoresensorsandactuators,wecan reachthephaseofoptimiseandfinallytheultimatephaseofmakingthesolutionautonomous.
Dr. Mazlan Abbas is the CEO and Co-founder of FAVORIOT, a Malaysian IoT Start-up that focuses on providing a peace of mind solu on called RAQIB for the pilgrims and their family members during performing their Hajj. Favoriot also offers RAQIB to monitor the elderly's health, safety, and loca on. Both solu ons above comprised of Smart Wearables connected to FAVORIOT IoT middleware. The middleware is now being used by more than 20 organiza ons to build their own IoT solu ons.
5.IoTDNA–Startupshouldcapitalizethejourneyofanindividualorganization’sdigitaltransformationjourney fromthebeginning.UnderstandingtheirpainpointsandprovidingtheIoTsolutionissimilartoadoctor prescribingmedicinesfortheirpatientuntiltheyrecoverfromtheirillness.Onlytheregularorthe“house” doctorknowthepatientwellenough–thus,betheirIoTDNA.
IoThastakenalongjourneyandnowithasbecomeanintegralpartofFourthIndustrialRevolutionandbeyond. Itwillbeverypervasiveandwillchangethelandscapeofcurrentbusinesswhetheryoulikeitornot.Itisno longeramonopolyeconomyduetomultipletechnologiesandspecifictalentsrequired.Startupshavetotake quicklyleverageandcapitalizetheopportunitynow.
Therewasatimewhenadesktop-basedapplicationwas
consideredasapopularchoiceformanagingtheon-line business.However,withtheadventofcutting-edgemobile technologies,deeperpenetrationofinternetacrosstheglobeand affordablemobiledevices,noonecanimaginerunningaprofitable businesswithouthavingamobileapp.
Therearereportswhichclearlyindicatesthathavingamobileappcan proveaboonforyourbusiness.AccordingtoTechcrunch.com,Black Fridaysalesdonethroughmobiledeviceslastyeartouchedover35%. Thisimpressivepercentagewas16%moreascomparedtothesales doneafewyearsago,accordingtoIBMHolidayBenchmarkReports.
Infact,inafamouscasestudy,itwasrevealedthatwhenDomino’s Pizzalaunchedtheirmobileapp,theywitnessedanastonishingsurge ofover28percentagepointsinhalf-yearpre-taxprofitsintheUK alone.
Youcanalsowitnessanupsurgeinprofitsbycraftinganalluringfast pacemobileapp.Let’scheckhowamobileappcanturnyourfortune foragood.
AccordingtooneprominentstudyitisfoundthatnearlythreequartersofAmericanschecktheirmobilephonesatleastonceper hour.Thisstudyrevealedthatmammoth90%ofthattime,American spendswhileworkingonmobileapps.Interestingly,Americansnow spendmoretimeontheirmobilephonesascomparedtowatching Television.
Therefore,thepresenceofyourappiscrucialinthegalleryofyour targetedaudience.Missingsuchcanonlyprovefatalinlongrun.Your appcancreateabrandvalueforyourbusinessandletyourbusiness togetrecognizedtotheentireworld.Infact,inmarketing,thereisthe
onesaying-onesabrandiscreated,moneystartfillingintothecompany'scofferssoonerorlater.Yourmobileapp cancreateabrandforyourbusinessandincreaseyouroutreachtotheevenuntappedterritory.Bycraftingitstylish withtheadditionofinformativeandfunctionalfeatures,youcanconnectwiththeheartsofyourtargeted customers.Onceyourcustomersgetinvolvedwithyourapp,theprobabilityofbuyingyourproductbecomeshigh.
Inadvertisingthisispopularlycalledthe“effectivefrequency”:asaruleofthumb,hearingand/orseeingyour brandapproximately20timesiswhatwillgetyoutrulynoticed.
Humansloveinstantgratificationandattractveryeasilytowardsanythingthatcangivetheminstantbenefit. Accordingtosomeprominentstudies,whenyouofferadiscountandotheroffers,morecustomersarelikelytoturn towardsyourbusiness.However,noteveryonegetsinformedinadvanceaboutthediscounts,specialoffersand otherpackagesthatcanbenefitthem.Havingabusinessappforthemobileplatformcanassistyoutoattractmore consumerstowardsyourservicesbysendinganinstantnotification.Suchnotificationscaninformyourtargeted customersaboutthedifferentdeals,discount,andothereventsinadvancewithoutanyhassle(infacton-the-go) andresultinboostingyourrevenue.
Forbestresults,scheduleyourpushnotificationsattherighttime.Everyonenowadayslivesahecticlifeschedule, andthusnoonewantstogetdisturbedwhileatworkorwhilesleeping.Thepromotionalmessagesthusneedtoget triggeredafterworkhoursoronweekendstogetreadbymostofyourtargetedaudience.
Referralprogramsareagreathitthesedays.Everybusinessisexpandingitsbusinessfootprintwithintriguing marketingtechniques.Yourloyalcustomerscanrunyourmarketingcampaignthatcanproveaboonnotonlyfor yourbusinessbutforyourcustomersaswell.Withtherewardofbonuspointsorinstantcash,theycanshareyour appwithothers(family,friendsandother).Suchcampaignscanincreasethevisibilityofyourbusinesstoevenuntargetedcategoryandassistinbuildinganewcustomerbase.Thus,youcanincreasesaleswithminimalextra effort!
Manyhumansare‘lazy’bynaturewhotriestoavoiddoingevenaminusculetaskifitisnotatallonhighpriority. Yourservicesmightbeexceptional,butwillpeoplecometoyourshopforbuyingthatthingisamillion-dollar question. Havingabusinessapp,youcanturnthoseprospectsintocustomerswhootherwisehappytocompromise onmediocrestuffduetolong-distanceconstraints. Yourbusinessappcanempowersuchcustomerstoplacean orderjustwithinafewclicksinahassle-freemanner.Easyorder,real-timetracking,andsecurepaymentsoptions providesagreatbenefittocustomersandaretheprimereasonsbehindthestupendousgrowthofmanyecommercegiantslikeAmazon,Alibaba,FlipKart,e-Bayandmore.
Moreover,yourappcanassistinanalyzingyourcustomerpreferences,feedbackandsuggestionsthattooinrealtime,whichultimatelyassistyouinoptimizingyourservicesforservingthembetterinthefuture.
Mobilityistheon-goingtrend.Ifyoustilldon’thavebroughtyourbusinessonthemobileplatform,thenweurge todoso.Notleveragingthebenefitsofmobiletechnologiescanonlyhelpyourcounterpartstooutpaceyou.Since theraceistight,profitmarginsareshrinking,andcompetitiongoingfierce.It’stimetotakeadecision!
NiklasLindwall CEO
Simulationsassistuserswithpracticalfeedback whendesigningreal-worldsystems.Designers determineaccuracyandefficiencyofadesign beforefabricatingtheactualmethod.Thissimulationis helpingeveryindustry,notablythemanufacturingone. CoupledwiththelatesttechnologytrendslikeIoTand additivemanufacturing,corporationsaredrawingthe pre-productionphaseofproductstonewheights.One suchfirmwhichisservingitsclientsinconqueringthe perfectengineeringisEDRMedeso.Whileleveraging thirtyyearsofexperience,thecompanyoffersa personalizedcombinationofleadingsimulationsoftware toidentifyproblemsandflawsinthedesignprocess.It alsocarriesoutdesignchangesfrombothperformance andcostperspectiveatanearlystage.EDRMedeso presentlyhaseightofficesinSweden,Norway,Denmark, Finland,andtheUK.Amongitsclientsaremanyof NorthernEurope’sleadingcompaniesintheindustry
primarilycomprisingofengineering,andconstruction, andconsultantsandspecialistsatsmallerengineering organizations.
NiklasLindwallistheCEOofEDRMedeso.Witha MastersinMechanicalEngineering,Niklasstartedhis careerasaSupportEngineerwithEngineeringData Resources–EDR,(partofEDRMedesonow).Hewas primarilyintoprovidingtrainingandconsultancy,and latermovedontothesaleswhereheservedonEDR’s SwedenandFinlandglobalproductionprospects.After hisfruitfulworkatEDR,heleftbehindthepositionand carriedoutasProductManageratDetNorskeVeritas, whereheconcentratedonshipbuildingsystemsand managedglobalworkinitssalesdepartment.Soonafter, hereturnedtoEDRMedesoasitsSalesandCountry Managertolookafterthefirm’sregionaloperationsand tookoverasitsCEOinApril2016.
WithitsestablishmentintheNordicsregionandthe UnitedKingdom,EDRMedesoprovidesexceptional servicesthroughitsdigitallabandvirtualfabrication processes.Thefirm’sdigitallabisbasedonphysics-based simulations,whichprovidescustomersvaluableproduct insightbothintheconceptandprototypephasehelping themreducingthewasteoftimeandmoneyonphysical prototypes.
Theorganizationhasachievedmuchgrowthwithinthe lastfiveyearsandbelievesthatphysics-basedsimulation fitswellwiththeon-goingindustrymega-trends.Withthe supportofIoT,thefirmsuppliessoundsourceintothe
physics-basedprototypemodelsandcreatedigitaltwins oftheproducts.Bysuch,theycanpredicttheproduct’s requirementsincludingitsfuture,nextservice,etc.By such,thecompanyhelpstheircustomerssimulateand manufactureproductsthattheyhave calculatedfor decades.
Recountinghiscontributiontothefirm,Niklasasserts, “My personal milestones are very much the same as the company’s. I live and breathe for the company. If the company succeeds, I succeed too”.
Thefirmhasraiseditsprofitswithdoubledigitsfromthe lastthreeyears.Ithasreachedprofitmarginsthatareof thetopsegmentintheindustry.Additionally,EDRMedeso isrecognizedasthegloballeaderinthesimulationand BIMindustry.Theenterprisehasexperiencedevery aspectoftheindustryandhasattractedthebestclients fromallovertheworld.Thefirmalsofeelsproudofits recentpartnershipwithPTC,whichhasproliferatedits nameintheIoTsector,andmoreclientsarenow proposingtobeitspartners.
Thedigitaltwinsideofthefirmaidcustomersinopening newrevenues.Theclientscanusethesimulateddatafrom theliveproductandfeedthatbackintotheproduct’s developmentphase.Clientscanfurtherpredictthe product’sfuturewiththeembeddedsensorsfromtheIoT andthenuseacombinationofphysics-basedsimulation andbigdataanalysistocomeupwithscenariosbasedon that.Thecorporationfurtherbelievesthattechnologies likeadditivemanufacturingand3Dprintingopenthe opportunitiesforenterprisestotakeabroadersegmentof profitmargin.
“The most critical part is to establish the customer value and based on that define a Strategy and connected plan with clear goals. The procedure should not be complicated and must match the objectives of the business. Start-ups must stick to the agenda and execute it very carefully. The focus should be the center of attention
and running away with distractions can lose focus, which will ultimately result in losing the deliverables and the clients,”saysNiklas.
EDRMedesowillcontinuetoprovidesimulationstoits customersandhelpthemgatherinsightsintohowtheir clients usetheirproducts.Sometimesclientsuseproducts alittledifferentlythantheywereintended.Withthese newinsights,thefirmwillaidcustomersinmodifyingthe existingproducts.Itwillalsocontinuetoenclosemore trendingtechnologiestoitsDigitalTwinsandBIMto supportdesignthroughitsphases,allowingstronger analysisandcontrolthanmanualprocesses.When executed,thesecomputer-generatedmodelswillcontain precisegeometryanddesireddatatoaidtheconstruction, fabrication,andprocurementactivitiesthroughwhichthe designisrealized.
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Natalie Turner is a Keynote speaker and Author of the book Yes, You Can Innovate. Discover your innovation strengths and develop your creative potential which was selected as book of the month in both the UK and Singapore earlier this year. She is the Founder and CEO of The Entheo Network, a global innovation company and has exemplary expertise in the eld of marketing, business strategy, and leadership development. Under her leadership, the company provides a suite of innovative products and services to help individuals and organizations create new sources of value whilst building innovation skills, capabilities and culture. She is also the inventor of ® the 6 ‘I’s Innovation which measures innovation strengths of individuals and teams to unlock the innovation culture in an organization.
www.6-i-innovation.com.
Asthedigitallandscapecontinuestochangeatarapidpace,
dismantlinganddisruptingthewaythatwedobusiness,howcan weensurethatourleadershipandorganisationalthinkingevolves atthesamerate?TheCEOisultimatelyresponsibleforthesuccessor failureofthecompanythattheylead,which,intoday’sworld,means ensuringanorganisationcanadapttothisfastrateofchange.Todothis, leadersneedtoknowhowtoinnovatewithagilityandspeed.Thismeans, onthegroundduringday-to-daywork,thateachemployeehasaclear understandingofhowtheycontributetocreatingvalueoutofnewideas andacommonlanguagetoenablethemtoworktogether.AsaCEO,part ofyourroleistofosteracultureofinnovationthatcanharnesstheoften disparateskillsandmindsetsrequiredtosuccessfullyinnovate.Thekeyis tounderstandthatinnovationisajourney,whichincludesspottingtrends anddiscontinuitiesandgeneratingnewideas,throughtoinvestingand implementingthoseideasthatcanpotentiallyhavethemostimpact.The skillistoknowhowtomatchpeople’sstrengthstotherightpart.
Often,thefirstpeopletoembraceinnovationtendtoloveideasandcan identifytrends,patternsandopportunities.Theyarecuriousandfitthe classicstereotypeofcreativity–playful,open-mindedandattractedto
novelty.Innovation,trulydeepandsustainableinnovation, combinesbothcreativityanddiscipline,whicharecurious bedfellows.Itisaconsideredprocessthatrequiresaraftof differentskillsandwaysofthinking,combinedtowards creatingacommonoutcome.Infact,theinnovationjourney ismorelikeacyclethatcanstartatanypoint,notjustinthe playfulandcuriousspaces.
Thereareprobablymanyemployeesinyourorganisation whodonotidentifywiththissenseofcuriosity,orthink thattheyhavelightbulbmoments,butwhoarenonetheless crucialtothesuccessofinnovationasanoutcome.Youwill notembedanagileinnovationculturewithoutshowing employeesofallstripesandskillsetswheretheyfitin.The innovationcultureneedsacommonframeworkand language.Withinthissharedunderstanding,differentstyles aremorelikelytointeractwith,andappreciate,the contributionofothers.Creatingthebestenvironmentfor eachstageofthejourney,sothatpeopleareempoweredto contributetheirstrengthswillimprovethelikelihoodof success.
StartwithaligningteamsaroundPURPOSE,whatarethey tryingtoachieveandwhy?Thenmovetohowtheycan identifyopportunitiesthroughunderstandingtrendsand patterns,oftenrelatedtochangesinhumanbehaviour.Then movetothecreativespacewherepeopleigniteideas, throughpracticessuchasbrainstormingandvalue propositiondesign.Afteryouhaveanarrayofideas,submit themtoanalysisandexperimentation,separatingthegood onesfromthebad,investigatingwhethertheyareuseful, notjustnovel.Theinterrelationshipbetweenthesethree spacesisoftenwhereyouseedesignthinkingprocessesin action.Now,ifyouhaveafewreallygoodideasthathavea highchanceofworking,starttothinkthroughhowtobest makethemwork.Ifnot,revisittheoriginal-identified opportunityorgeneratealternativeideasandsolutions. Whenreadyforinvestment,innovationleadershipisreally critical.Thisisoftenthegraveyardofideas. Here demonstratecourage;assignresources,whetheritispeople, timeormoney.Onceideasarefunded,findpeoplewhoare greatatimplementationandgettingthingsdone.Oncethe ideaisstartingtogettractionandhaveanimpact,harness theskillsofimprovementandoptimisationtoscaleand leveragetheideasintootherareasofopportunity. Therearenostraightroads.Thisiswhyinnovatingisoften sodifficult.Notonlyareyoutryingtodosomethingnew,
youhavetoharnessdiversitytowardsanoftenunknown outcome.Creatingthebestenvironmentforeachstageof thejourney,sothatpeopleareempoweredtocontribute theirstrengths,willhelptocreateasuccessfuloutcome. Thismeansteachingpeoplewhentocontributeandwhento passthebatonontosomeoneelse.Thisistrue collaboration,anchoredinaclearpurposethatisfocusedon thesuccessoftheidea.
Giveeachofyouremployeesaproactiveroleinthe innovationjourney
Culturecouldbetermed“howwedothingsaroundhere” andpartofwhatcontributestowardsthisishowleadersact andbehavetowardsthepeoplethattheymanageandlead. Evenmoresowhenitcomestoinnovating.Ifpeople understandtheircontribution,theywillhavetheconfidence andcouragetostartthinkingofthemselvesasinnovators. Theywillalsounderstandwhentheywillhavethemost impact.Theinnovationjourneyneedsadifferentcultureat differentpoints;aculturethatallowsforideastobe generatedisnotthesameasoneneededtoinvestigatethose ideas.
Leadbyexample.Understandthepartoftheinnovation journeythatyouarebestat,andbeawareofthebiasthat youwillhavebecauseofthat. Increasetheawarenessof yourselfandothers,sothatyoucanempowereveryoneto cultivateenvironmentsthatallowtheirstrengthstoflourish. Ensurethateveryskillsetanditscontributiontoinnovation isrespectedandrewarded.Thiscanonlybedoneby understandingthewholeoftheinnovationjourney,end-toend.Diversityiskey,ifyouhavealotofpeoplewhoare goodatgeneratingideas,youmayendupwithverylittle thatactuallygetsdone.Ifyouhavealotofpeoplewhoare goodatimplementation,youmayendupdealingwith today’sworkverywell,butnothavethecultureofa future-readyorganisationthatcanadapttofast-paced changetomorrow. Inempoweringyourleadersand employeestodeveloptheircreativepotential,inthe broadestsenseoftheword,innovationwillstarttoseep throughthewholeofyourorganisation,embeddinga culturethatwillincreasethelikelihoodofyoucreating impactfulvalueoutofnewideas.
Blockchaintechnologyisanimpressivebreakthrough inthefieldofscienceandtechnology.Itspopularity hasskyrocketedovertheyearsduetoitsextensive andfar-fetchedcapabilitiesandpromiseofmakingbusiness processsmoother,faster,andsecure. Smart Contracts and Content Streaming arethenewtrendsthatarebenefitting immenselybythisnewagetechnology.Thesenewfacets aretopplingestablishedmarketleadersandcreatingnewer opportunitiesfornew-agestart-upsentrepreneurs.
SmartContracts Contractsarethemostvitalpartofanybusinessoperation andnobusinesscanachieveitsultimateobjectivewithout followingthecontractualguidelines.Whilewehaveseen traditionalcontractsbeenapopularmethodofframing contractssinceages,SmartContractshavenowpulling everyone’sattentiontowardsit.ThereasonbehindSmart Contracts’immensepopularityisitsfascinatingfeatures like:Itdoesnottakedaystobuildacontract;infactitdoes thatinminutes.Unliketraditionalcontractswhereescrow, physicalpresenceandlawyersarenecessary;Smart Contractsdonotrequireanysuchthingsandthusprovides amuchsmootherandfasterwaytocraftacontract.Apart fromthese,themostinterestingfeaturebehinditsrising popularityisthatittakesonlyafractionofthecosttocraft thecontractascomparedtotraditionalcontracts.Butatthe cruxofall,whatismakingallthesethingspossible.The answerisblockchaintechnology.
Duetoblockchain,SmartContractscancreateairtight agreementsbypassingthirdparties.Manyindustriesare nowlookingtowardsSmartContractsasameantolayout businesstransactions.Ithasplentyofapplicationsinall sortsofindustriesrangingfromfinance,realestate,and logisticstorecruitment.Infact,anyindustrythatrelieson agreementtofunctioncanbenefitimmenselywithSmart Contracts.
Thesecontractsoffertransparencyandsecuritywhile simultaneouslyspeedingupthewholebusinessprocess. Whilesmartcontractshavethepotentialtobecomelegal contracts,theyshouldnotbeconfusedwithlegalcontracts acceptedbycourts.Inthenearfuture,wewillprobablysee afusionoflegalcontractsandsmartcontractsasthe technologybecomesmorematureandscalable.
ContentStreaming Streamingcontentonlineisthenewtrendthisworldis witnessingthesedays.Whethertowatchamovie,songora famousTV-series,moreandmorepeopleareusingonline services.Accordingtooneprominentsurvey,awhopping 61%ofrespondentsagedbetween18-29primarilyuse onlinestreamingservicestowatchtelevision.Butthe currenttechnologyconsumeslargeamountofprocessing power,andmakethemaintenanceofalldata,serversand
networkssignificantlycostly,thusresultingintothe increasedmaintenancecostoftraditionalvideo-streaming technology.Blockchaintechnologyprocesslargeamountof dataandchargesignificantlylesserascomparedtothe traditionaltechnologyforstreamingvideos.Moreover,this technologyprovidesbettercontentindependence,content monetization,andcensor-freecontentdistribution.
Independence of Content: Thepresentdaycontent distributionisdonethroughcentralizedhubsandthepower ofdistributionisleftinthehandsofcentralizedcorporation. Andsincethedistributionislimitedtothesehubs,the creatorsarealsolimitedincontactwiththeviewer. Although,withthearrivalofblockchaintechnology, contentcreatorscanusepeer-to-peerdistributionchannel effectivelybyremovingthecentralizedhubandcanusea systemwhereindependentcontentcreatorscanmarketand distributetheircontentsdirectlytotheviewers.
Content Monetization: Thetraditionalcentralizedmethod providescreatorsonlypaltrywaystoearnmoneywiththeir creativecontentlike:AdSenseallowsYouTubepublishers toearnmoneyfromadvertisementsthatarelinkedtovideo itself,butthismethodisnotatparwiththecurrenttimesas itstripsvaluefromthecontentitself,effectivelyreducesthe truecontentcreatorstotakingmaximumbenefitsfrom advertisingrevenue.Blockchaintechnologyprovidesan innovativetechniqueknownastokenizingcontentforusers tomonetizetheircontentsdirectly.Enterprisesusetokens throughinitialcoinofferings(ICO),whichcanbeusedby creatorstopromotetheircontent,orbyconsumerstoaccess andconsumecontent.Withtokenizing,blockchainmakesit possibleforuserstochoosewhattoofferwhilegaining monetarygaindirectlyfromthecontentitself.
Censor-free Content:Today,wehavemanyvideosharing platforms,whichcontainconsiderablelevelofcensorship andcreatorsarenotallowedtoproduce/distributetheir contentwithoutfollowingstringentguidelines.Censorship isarequirementofcontentdistributionbutnotalwaysitis essential.Manytimestheauthoritiesdothecensorship, whichisnotatallrequiredandimpacttherevenueof creatorsandalsodisappointtheviewers.Blockchain technologyusesP2Psystemsandthusallowsfor censor-freecontentdistributionandempowerboththe creatorsandviewers.Itallowscreatorstopromotetheir contentdirectlytothosewhowanttoconsumeit.
Theapplicationsofblockchaintechnologyisimmense,this makesitpopular.Theprofoundimpactofthisdistributed ledgertechnologyisfargreaterthananyonecanrealize. Thistechnologyhasthepotentialtochangethelandscape ofeconomics,businessandsocietyatlarge.Wearejustat thebeginningofitstechnologicaladventure.
Multinationalenterprisetoday
arefacingahugerangeof challengesasdigitization, globalizationandnewITsolutionscall forinnovativenetworksolutions. AccordingtoGartner,around80%of employeesandcustomersareservedin branchoffices.Andasurveydoneby researchcompanyPopulusshowsthat even41%ofsmallandmedium companiessay,theydobusinessin countriesoutsidetheirown. Enterprisesthusneedtointerconnect sitesandworkforcesaroundtheglobe withgreaterflexibilityandagilitythan everbefore.
Inaddition,newcloud-based applicationsaredrivingdemandfor greaterconnectivityandhigher bandwidthswithpremiumnetwork performanceandsecurity.Accordingto asurveydonebyGartner,the worldwidepubliccloudservicemarket grewby18%in2017.Andmarket researchersfromCiscoseeanincrease ofglobalbusinessIPtrafficby21% until2021.Thus,enterprisesneednew dataconnectivityservicestocopewith theincreasingnetworkrequirements.
Asharingeconomyapproachto providea“one-stop-shop” experienceforenterprises Manyglobalcompanieswetalkto haveagrowinginternationalpresence orcustomerbase,andtheyneeda secureapproachtoconnecttheir
worldwideoperations.Mostofthetime theyarerelyingonseveralservice providerstodelivertheneeded services.Butthisprocurementset-up oftenmakese.g.theadditionofnew sitesorchangestoanexistingnetwork connectioncomplicatedandslow. Insteadofhavingtonegotiate,obtain, andmanagedisparateconnectivity fromvariousproviders,itwouldbe muchbetter,ifonetrustedpartner couldmanageandoperatethe completedataconnectivityservicesas a“one-stopshop”forallglobal networkneedsofacompany.Andthis isexactly,whywehaveinitiatedan allianceofleadingserviceproviders andfoundedngena.
ngenastandsfor»NextGeneration EnterpriseNetworkAlliance«andisan allianceofglobaltelecommunications providersthatarejoiningforcesina sharedeconomymodeltooffera solutionthatcanovercomethe customerchallengesdescribedabove.
Foundedinearly2016,ngenahasseen morethan17stronginternational partnersaroundtheglobejoiningthe alliance.FoundedbyDeutsche Telekom,CenturyLink,RelianceJio andSKTelekom,thealliancehasnow growntoincludeseveralnewtelecom partnerssuchasA1,AlticewithSFR andPortugalTelecom,Expereo,KPN, MTN, Starhub,Neutrona, Telus, PCCWGlobalandVEONplus technologypartnersCisco,Comarch
andEquinix.
Software-definenetworks–much morethanahype
Fromatechnologyperspective,the allianceprovidesacentralcloud platformthatmergesthelocal networksofallalliancepartners, formingasingleglobalSoftware DefinedWideAreaNetwork(SDWAN).Thearchitectureisbasedon sharingthelocalnetworkassetsusing cloudandvirtualizationtechnologyto providehybridVPNserviceswith additionalserviceoptions(e.g.network optimizationservices,securityservices etc.).Thus,alllocalpartnerscan deliverperformantandsecuredata connectivityservicestotheirend customersonaglobalscale. Enterprisesbenefitfromthisapproach inmanyways:ontheonehandthey getaglobalnetworkservicewhichis secure,stable,scalableandeasytouse; ontheotherhand,theyprofitfromthe localaccessandlocalcareoftheir regionaltelecommunicationprovider.
Oneofngena’stechnologypartnersis UStechnologygiantCisco.Ciscohas beenworkingwiththealliancefrom thestarttodesignandbuildtheservice deliveryplatformbehindngena.The platformispoweredbytechnologies thatfeaturehigh-performancecloud infrastructure,layeredorchestrationfor end-to-endseamlessautomation, serviceassurance,virtualnetwork
functions,andcustomerpremiseequipmentportfolio.Combinedwith Cisco’snewlyacquiredViptelaSD-WANtechnology,thisplatform enablesngenatoofferenterprisescost-effectiveandreliable businessnetworkservices.Thengenasolutionisdesignedto meetcustomerrequirementsforsinglesourcingofservice providersforglobalenterprisenetworkservices,faster serviceroll-outatanylocationintheworld,and predictableend-to-endservicelevelagreements.
WhatisalsospecialaboutthismodelisthattheCisco technologyintegrateswithathird-partyBusinessand OperationsSystem(B/OSS)developedbysoftware companyComarch.Withthehelpofthiscloud platform,allalliancepartnerscanconfigureand managetheglobalnetworksoftheircustomers centrally.Thus,theycanchangenetwork configurations,addnewaccessesormakefastchanges toexistingnetworkswithatipofamouseclick.
Thetransformationhasjustbegun Thepotentialpowerofthengenaapproachisreally impressive.It’satransformativeinitiativethat combinesaninnovativebusinessmodel,strong industrialpartnerships,acloud-first,software-based technologyplatform,andahighdegreeofprocess automation.Togetherthoseattributesenablengena anditsalliancepartnerstouniquelyaddressthe needsofmultinationalenterprisesandleapfrogthe classiccompetition.
About e Author Expert’s Viewpoint
Marcusdevelopedtheideaandconceptforngenaandisthe ManagingDirectorofngenasinceitsfoundationinFebruary 2016.HehasworkedforT-Systemssince2004,holdinga numberofmanagerialpositionsinDelivery,SalesandProduct Management.Intheseroles,hisresponsibilitiesincluded globalprovisioningandoperationsoftelecommunications solutionsaswellasthedevelopmentofaglobal telecommunicationsportfolio.
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deliverenhancedvalue.Company’scommitmenttoquality andserviceexcellencemakesitscustomerstosatisfactorily relyonMultiTechproducts,whilethecompany’shistoryof innovationensuresitscustomerstostayaheadofthelatest technologyindatacommunicationspace.
DrivingForceofMultiTech
StefanLindvall CEO
TheIoTmarkethasbeengrowingsteadilyformany
yearsandwillcontinuetodosoatadouble-digit CAGRfortheforeseeablefuture.Interestingly,as themarketplacebecomesmoremature,thefocusisshifting fromdiscussionoftheenablingtechnologiestoadiscussion ofthebusinessvaluebeingenabled.Thisisagood development,butitcancreatesomeconfusionaboutallthe differentpiecesofthestackrequiredtodevelop,deployand manageacompletesolution.MultiTech,aninnovativedata communicationsequipmentprovidercompanyaddresses thisissueandprovidestheactualconnectivityhardwareto fulfillallcommunicationneeds.Inaddition,thecompanyis committedtohelpingitscustomersnavigatetheentire ecosystemthroughcollaborationwithserviceproviders acrosstheentirevaluechain.
MultiTechdesigns,developsandmanufacturesdata communicationsequipmentfortheindustrialInternetof Things—connectingphysicalassetstobusinessprocessesto
StefanLindvallistheCEOofMultiTech.Stefanbrings morethan20yearsofhigh-levelexperienceinthewireless industrytoMultiTech.LindvallfoundedConnected Development,oneoftheleadingwirelessdesignservices companiesintheU.S. PriortoConnectedDevelopment, StefanservedasPresidentoftheAmericasatWavecomand beforethatheldvariousleadershippositionsatSonyEricssonandEricssonincluding,VicePresidentm2mSales, Americas.LindvallreceivedhisMScinIndustrial EngineeringandManagementfromtheUniversityof Linkoping,Sweden.
CustomerOrientedExtraordinaryOfferings
SuperiorQuality:FromUS-basedmanufacturingplantto countlessproductandprocesscertifications,MultiTechis committedtotheutmostqualityineverythingtheydo. That’swhytherearemorethan22MillionMultiTech productsperformingessentialdutiesforbusinessesaround theglobe.
ServiceExcellence:Fromacomprehensiveportfoliotothe extensivereachofthedistributionnetwork,MultiTechis easytochooseandeasytobuy.Thankstotheirin-house manufacturingandcustomdesignservices;broad-reaching expertiseandfast,agiledevelopmentcompanydelivers customizationandflexibility.
HistoryofInnovation:Fromtheearliestanalogsystemsto thecellularheartoftoday’sindustrialInternetofThingsto thelatestlow-powerwirelesstechnology,MultiTechhas consistentlyconnectedbusinessesinwayspreviously unimaginable–andhasbeendoingsoformorethan40
years. “We have no intention of slowing down. We’re continuing our legacy of firsts with the world’s first commercially deployable LPWA suite of communications devices,” assertsStefan.
forMultiTech’sCustomers
Sensordata,machine-to-machine(M2M)communication anddataanalysisarerapidlyconverging,andMultiTechis oneofthefewIoTcompaniesthathasbroughtthese technologiestogetherfordecades.Theirexperiencehas taughtthemhowtoaccuratelycaptureandcommunicate real-timedataforoptimizedbusinessprocessesinawide rangeofindustries,inorderto:
• Createnewserviceofferingsbyleveragingremote,new andon-demanddata
• Openupnewproductcategoriesnotavailablebeforedue tolackoftimelyinformation
• Easilyimproveandoptimizeyourcustomerexperiencefor repeatsales
• Reducerelianceonlabor-intensivesolutionsbyutilizing devicedatatoidentifynewrevenue-generating opportunities.
• Enhancepredictiveandpreventativemaintenanceby optimizingsitevisits
• Improveprocessoptimizationbyhavingtherightpartat therighttime
• Furtherautomationbyleveragingintelligenceattheedge
• Implementexceptionmonitoringbyleveraging intelligenceattheedgewhereyourassetsreside
Thecompany’sgoalistohelpcustomerstoincrease efficiencieswhereverpossible.Ratherthanhiringnew employeesorsettlingfortime-consumingprocesses, customerscanrelyonMultiTechtocuttheiroperatingcosts significantly.
• Improvedworkersafetywithpredictivemodeling
• Easiertrackingandreportingonindustry-specific regulations
• Receivepeaceofmind.
WithMultiTech,customerscanbecertainthattheirdevices are100%compliantwithnetworkregulations.
TheInternetofThings(IoT)hassettheITworldonfire withinnovativetechnologiesandastonishinggrowthlevels. Therateofdatacollectionhasalsoacceleratedmarkedlyin recentyears:anIBMMarketingCloudstudyclaims90%of thetotaldataintheworldwascreatedinjustthepasttwo years,atarateof2.5quintillionbytesofdataperday.
Tosupportthisexponentialgrowthindatacollection,new smartconnectedsensorsandassetsarebeingdeployed everyday.This,inturn,callsforinnovationsinthe machine-to-machine(M2M)andIoTnetworkswhichcarry thevastflowofdata,inordertomitigatethecostand inefficiencyofhandlingdatacentrallyinthecloud.IoT networksofthefuturemustadoptadecentralized architectureinwhichprocessingofrawdatabeginsnotin thecloud,butatthenetworkedge.
Torespondtothisneed,MultiTechhasembedded intelligenceintotheiredgedevicestosupporton-sitedata processingandresponse,asappropriate.Evenwiththe potentialbandwidthimprovementspromisedby5G,the combinationofAIandIoTwillrequireadditional processingoverheadandmoreintensiveedgeintelligence tomanagereal-timedecisionmakingforindustrial applications.
MultiTechwillcontinuetobeinnovationfocusedon solvingourcustomer’sbiggestIoTpainpointsthrougha combinationofproductenhancements,targetedsupport servicesandtailoredbundledsolutions.
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Thecomingyearswillspectateatime
whentheentireworkplacewouldlook different.Halfoftheworldhasalready beeninfusedbyArtificialIntelligence.Inthis technologydrivenlife,peopleseldomhavetime towaste.Todaythereisanalternatetoevery problemthatlingerhumans.Letitbeabout automatedorsmartcarsbeingusedtomove around,ortakinghelpof“Siri”‒thepersonal assistanttohelpwithdirections,makeacallorfor anykindofservice.Theautogeneratedtextsthat isreceivedfrombanks,Facebookwishing birthdays,remindersoreventssetincalendars, emailfilteringspammessagesareallperformed throughautomation.Thus,AIhasitsinfluencein everyaspectofone’slife.
Theworldtodayismovinginaswiftmannerand thereisashiftathowwelive,moveand communicate.Timeseemstobebarrierhereas everyoneisinrushtoadapttothechanges.As humans,communicatingtoanotherbeingisvery important.Thereareautomaticsecretariesthat helpinarrangingsuchgatheringswithallthe necessaryinformation.Everythingoutinthe worldisjustatfingertipsaway.Scheduling meetings,orderinggrocery,makingdinnerplans, orderingfoodatworkorathomeanythingis possible.Technologyhasopenedupinfinite opportunitiesandthegrowthoftechnologyin suchasmallspanoftimeiscommendable.How mucheasiercanlifebewiththehelpofthese technologies?Theanswerliesinfuture. Consideringthechangesthathaveoccurredin pastfewyears,itcanbeassuredthatAIis growingandthescopesareinfinite.
Thealluringthingabouthumansisthattheyare alwayslookingforsomethingnewandtheystrive
tomaketheirliveseasier.Itdoesn’tneedageniustoknow thatthedrasticchangeineveryoneslivesandthe implementationofAIistheoutcomeofhumanthinkingand henceitwon’tbestartlingifrobotswouldactuallylive amongsthumans.Ifsuchathinghappensthenthework loadonhumanswouldbereducedtominimal.Isthata goodthingorbad?Howeverfromtheoutsidethisnew worldthatwouldemergeseemslikeeffortless.Mostofthe hazardoustaskslikedefusingabomb,workingatcoal mine,usingheavyanddangerousmachinesandevenatwar fieldwouldbecomelessofanightmare.Amongother thingsAIisplayingamajorroleinbusinessandotherwork
beaturningpoint.Itcanreducetherisksofthefts andotherincidents.
ThereisanothermasterpieceofAIthatcanbe calledasthegamechanger.AIrobotsarereplacing receptionists.Handingmultipleclientscanbetiring andcanattimesevencreateconfusionsandthus replacinghumanswithrobotsisbothimpressive andtimesaving.Imaginehowitwouldfeellike whenyouareenteringamuseumandyouare welcomedbyarobotwhogivesyouaquick, preciseandcleartourofallthethingsinthat museum.Howwonderfulisthat?Robotscaneven bereplacedbyworkersatfactory.Thisbrilliantstep haslotsofadvantages.Workersatcoalminesitesor anysuchmineralsitesarealwayspronetodanger, thereplacementofhumansbyrobotscanreduce thisriskandalsoitwillbehelpfulinincreasing productivity.SimilarlyAIrobotscantakeover worksofadriver,dataanalyst,deliveryboys, advertisingsalesperson,telemarketer,bookkeeping clerksandmanyothersuchstrenuousandboring jobs.Thatisnotalltheycanbealsobeusefulin otherhighintelligentjobslikethatofanaccountant. Arobotwillnevergowrongwithcalculationsand numbers.
Arehumansreadyforthischange?
fields whichgivea possibilityofrobots replacingworkersin themarket.
Asacoinhastwosides,this initiationcouldhavedrawbacks, butthereisbrightersidetoo.If workersarebeingreplacedwithrobots thentherewouldbehigherproductivityand lessertimeconsumption.Therewouldbea changeinthegraphofeconomicgrowthtoo.For exampleautomatedsurveillancecanbeaboontothe entiremankind.Improvedmachinetoolslike360degree videocameras,sensorsthatcancoverallkindsofimages thatpassbywillbringamassivechange.Itmightevenput thejobsofsecurityguardsatquestionbutthischangewill
Thebiggestfearthatlingeredhumanssinceyears waswhatwillhappentohumansifrobottakes over?Seemslikehumansareabouttogettheir answers.AIrobotisnotadreamanymoreratherit isthehardtruththatthecominggenerationhasto face.AccordingthereportsreleasedbyMcKinsey &Company,800millionworkerswouldbe replacedbyrobotsworldwidebytheyear2030.The reportalsostatedthatthecountrieswithadvanced economieslikeU.SandGermanyuptoone-thirdof workforcemightbereplacedbyrobotsbytheyear 2030.Doesthissuggestthattheworkerswould havetolearnotherskillsandfindotherjobs?The futurelooksbothscaryandimpressiveandwhat doesithasinstorecanonlybeunfoldedwithtime.
Fixedwirelessaccess(FWA)isasolutionthathas
beenaroundformorethanadecadeasanalternative toxDSL,fiberandotherwiredbroadbandaccess technologies.Usedtoprovideaccesstotheunderserved, usuallyinsub-urbanorruralareas,itisalsoutilizedasa complementarysolutionbyWISPsorCLECstoprovide competitiveservices.FWAismoreapplicabletothe residentialorsmall-businessmarketsthatconstantlyuse bandwidthhungryapplications.
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Fixedlinenetworking-withfiber,cableaccessoreven xDSL/vectoringtechnologies-provideshighcapacityand reliabilitybutatasignificantCapEx.Moreover,typical copper-basedxDSLtechnologiescannotofferhigh capacities.Modernwirelesstechnologiesarealready field-provenandoperatorsinvestinrelatedsolutionsto deliverresidentialbroadbandaccessservicesas efficientlyaspossible.
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ThehigherthenumberofCustomerPremisesEquipment thatcanbeservedinasectorizedarea,thefastertheROI. Increaseindemandshouldnotobligateadditional spendingonequipmentinfrastructureatthehubsites. Highsectorcapacityisalsoanimportantfactorto consider,combinedwiththespectrumefficiencyofthe deployedsystem.
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TheFWAmarketandespeciallytheresidentialaccess applicationsarepricesensitiveasfarastheCPEis concerned.WirelessISPsthatplantodeployfixed wirelessbroadbandnetworksandofferattractivemonthly packagesneedtoselectequipmentvendorsthatwill providelowCapExsolutionsandgenerateprofitable investments.
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Deploymenttimeisalsoimportantinthefiercelycompetitivetelecommarket.Asaresult,operatorshaveto considerwirelesstechnologiesforsuchasolution,asthey haveasignificantadvantageoverfixedlinenetworkingin termsofthetimeittakestoreachtheendcustomer,and alsogenerateCapExsavings.Easeofinstallationand commissioningisalsocriticalfortheOpExoflarge deployments.
ThecurrentFWAsub-6GHztechnologiesoffermaximum throughputsintheorderoftensofMbpsperuser.Everyone iswaitingfortheholygrailof5Gaccessanditsfiberlike performance.Thequestioniswhydoesittakesolongto mature?Inthepast,mobilestandardsweredesignedto improveonpreviousonesinoneortwoways,suchasvoice ormobilebroadband.5G,however,hasamuchbroader scope.Fromitsconception,thecreatorsof5Gwantedthe networktohandleseveraldifferentfunctions,including enhancedmobilebroadband,massivemachinetype communications,alsocalledIoT,andcritical,ultrareliable
IntracomTelecomisaglobal telecommunicationsystemsand solutionsvendoroperatingforover 40yearsinthemarket.The companyhasbecomethe benchmarkinfixedwirelessaccess anditsuccessfullyinnovatesinthe 5G/4Gwirelessfronthaul, backhaulandsmall-cellSON backhaulinternationalarena.
andlow-latencycommunications.
Thedemandforbroadbandservicesboth intheenterpriseandthepremium residentialusersegmentsisconstantly growing.
Despitegoodfiberavailabilityinlarge cities,thedeploymentofmicrowave accesslinks(28/39GHz)canbequicker andcheaperinmanycases.Analystsare projectingdoubledigitgrowthratesin theFWAmarketintheforthcoming years.ThisisseenbymanyWISPsand CLECsasanopportunitytodeployhighcapacityFWAservicestodayandnot waitfor5Gtohappen.
Manyoperatorsalreadypossess,or consideracquiring,area-licensed spectrumandwouldliketotake advantagebothoftheirinvestmentand theextraassuranceofferedbylicensed spectrumwithrespecttointerference,in ordertodeployFWAinthese frequencies.
Owningarea-licensedspectrum(as opposedtoper-linklicensedspectrum) enablestheuseofPtMPsystemsand offerstheadvantageofnotrequiringa separatelicensingprocedureforthe planningandinstallationofeachlink, whichisaconsiderationifonehasto deploy,andpotentiallyre-deploy, multiplelinkswithinashortperiodof time.
Licensedspectrumforthebandwidthrich,area-licensed10.5/26/28GHz bands,isidealfordenseFWA deploymentinresidentialapplications. Thebenefitofusinglicensedspectrumis theassuranceofavoidinginterference fromcompetingoperatorsystemsusing thesamebands.
