Enterprise Iot
Article | May 11, 2023
Understanding the Impact of IoT Device Management
The Internet of Things (IoT) industry is growing exponentially, with the potential to become limitless. The current range of existing and potential Internet of Things devices is in itself quite enormous. This also gives businesses an opportunity to pay more attention to the newest technologies.
In ascenario with rapidly increasing numbers of devices, manual management of devices becomes close to impossible, laced with human errors. Moreover, keeping an eye on hundreds of devices one by one to make sure they work the way they should is not an easy task to undertake.
Businesses at the outset of IoT adoption are most often unaware of why they require a device management platform.This is precisely why a device management platform is so crucial.It can effectively connect toall of theconnected devices and get the required information from them in the right way.
An effective device management platform can turn out to be the vital aspect that will define the success of any small or large IoT implementation project. Such a platform would ideally allow organizations to manage their internet-connected devices remotely.
"If you think that the internet has changed your life, think again. The IoT is about to change it all over again!" — Brendan O'Brien, Chief Architect & Co-Founder, Aria Systems.
Why Do Organizations Need an IoT Device Management Platform?
An effective IoT device management platform offers simplified provisioning, centralized management, and real-time insights into all existing devices and integrations to help organizations stay on top of their deployment.
Device management platforms help you keep a check on the growing number of devices while keeping errors at bay, with your growing number of connected devices. It would ensure that you have a clear dashboard and an alerting system as an effective supporting system. In addition, getting involved with IoT device management platforms can also help you in a number of other ways.
It acceleratestime-to-market and helps reduce costs
The management platform enables secure device on and offboarding
It also streamlines network monitoring and troubleshooting
IoT simplifies deployment and management of downstream applications
It mitigates security risks
Evaluating the Future of IoT Device Management
It is predicted that the world will have more than 100 billion IoT-connected devices by 2050. The future potential of the IoT is limitless, and the potential is not about enabling billions of devices together but leveraging the enormous volumes of actionable data thatcan automate diverse business processes.
Critical Aspects of the IoT's Future
The critical aspects of IoT predictionsare fast impacting several categories all across the globe, ranging from consumer to industrial.
IoT Companies and a Circular Economy
IoT firms are assisting in the development of a future with less waste, more energy efficiency, and increased personal autonomy. A connected device system, on the other hand, must be feedback-rich and responsive, and activities must be linked via data in order to be sustainable. Ways to achieve a responsive and actionable system include:
Extending the use cycle with predictive maintenance.
Increasing utilization and reducing unplanned downtime.
Looping the asset for reuse, remanufacture, or recycle.
Common Billing and Revenue Challenges
We are currently moving toward a future where everything from cars to household machines and home security will be sold by manufacturers as subscription services. This will result in organizations selling IoT subscriptions looking for new ways to managebilling and revenue for their business model.
Service diversity
Data monetization
Complex stakeholder network
Cost management
Cohesive IoT Deployment Strategy for the C-suite
With the future of IoTon its way to becoming the most disruptive innovation and compelling technology that will facilitate better services to customers, from a support perspective, being connected remotely with customers' devices offers considerable advantages to service organizations. However, this is also not a new concept; earlier, large organizations and data storage companies were remotely connected to their client systems using dedicated telecommunications links before the commercialization of the internet.
Using the estimates of the exponential rise in connected devices, the IoT offers a wide array of opportunities to effectively improve the industry, such as:
Consumer activity tracking includes in-store applications that assess traffic flow and purchase choices.
Manufacturing, storage, distribution, and retail operations have been optimized to increase productivity and reduce waste.
Energy, inventory, and fleet assets are all used more efficiently.
Improved situational awareness, such as vehicle warning systems
Enhanced decision-making, such as medical equipment that notifies doctorswhen a patient's health changes.
Self-parking and self-driving automobiles are examples of autonomous systems.
An interesting case study with Michelin showed that they were adding sensors to tires to better understand wear over time. This data is important for clients to know when to rotate or replace tires which saves them money and enhances safety. However, this also implies Michelin can move away from selling tires and instead lease them. Because sensor data will teach the corporation how to maintain the tires, Michelin now has a new economic incentive to have tires last as long as feasible. IoT device management plays a crucial role in effectively accumulating and processing data from all the widely distributed IoT sensors.
Conclusion
As more sectors discover the advantages linked machines can bring to their operations, IoT enterprises have a bright future ahead of them. Newer services are steadily being pushed out on top of IoT infrastructure in industries ranging from healthcare to retail, telecommunications, and even finance. Due to increasing capacity and AI, service providers will move deeper into IT and web-scale industries, enabling whole new income streams as IoT device management platforms adapt to address these obstacles.
FAQ
Why Is Device Management Crucial for the IoT?
An IoT device management platform's features may help you save time and money and increase security while also providing the critical monitoring and management tools you need to keep your devices up-to-dateand optimized for your unique application requirements.
What Impact Will the IoT Have on the Management or Administration Sectors?
IoT technology allows for increased collaboration, but it will also free up your team's time from monotonous and isolating duties. For example, routine chores may be encoded into computers, freeing up time to concentrate on higher-order tasks.
What Are the Basic Requirements for IoT Device Management?
The four essential needs for IoT Device Management are as follows.
Authentication and provisioning
Configuration and Control.
Diagnostics and monitoring
Updating and maintaining software.
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IoT Security
Article | June 27, 2023
Pharma is big business, but what it’s not generally recognized is, in large part, a manufacturing business with complex supply chains, finicky chemical processes and products that have to meet stringent quality controls. Few of those outside the industry think about how drugs are made safely, efficiently and at scale with reliable quality and in precisely measured doses. Even more interesting is the simple fact that pharma often produces sophisticated drugs using manufacturing processes that are decades out of date, and which are being phased out in comparable industries, such as chemical manufacturing.
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Industrial IoT, IoT Security
Article | July 11, 2023
The year 2020 was supposed to be a breakthrough year for many technologies but, most businesses have now been forced back into building an infrastructure to transit their workforce to work remotely and ensure continuity of workflow. Nevertheless, an unprecedented set of events have pushed several industries to accelerate the adoption of technologies as they continue to work from home.
5G and Wi-Fi 6 are two tech advancements that have been turning eyes around the world since their introduction. The two wireless technologies are well on their way to revolutionize the Internet of Things as businesses move fast towards digitization and the world is excited.
Table of Contents:
- Wi-Fi 6: A Breakthrough in Wireless Technology
- 5G: For a Better Connected World
- How are Wi-Fi 6 and 5G Transforming the IoT?
- 5G and Wi-Fi 6: Rivals or Allies?
Wi-Fi 6: A Breakthrough in Wireless Technology
The next-generation Wi-Fi with boosted speed was introduced last year to meet the demand for faster internet amongst the rising internet users. But, Wi-Fi 6 is simply more than a tweak in the speed.
Technically called 802.11ax, Wi-Fi 6 is the advancement in the wireless standard doing the same basic things but with greater efficiency in the device-dense areas, and offering much greater bandwidth than its predecessor 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5. Wi-Fi 6 promises a speed up to 9.6 Gbps up four times than that of Wi-Fi 5 (3.5Gbps). In reality, this is just a theoretical maximum that one is not expected to reach. Even still, the 9.6Gbps is higher speed and doesn’t have to go to a single device but split up across a network of devices.
A new technology in Wi-Fi 6 called the Target Wake Time (TWT) lets routers set check-in times with devices, allowing communications between the router and the devices. The TWT also reduces the time required to keep the antennas powered to search for signals, which in turn also improves battery life.
Wi-Fi 6 also comes with a new security protocol called WPA3, making it difficult to hack the device passwords by simple guesswork.
In short, Wi-Fi 6 means better speeds with optimized battery lives, and improved security.
5G: For a Better Connected World
5G is the next in line to replace 4G LTE. While Wi-Fi covers small scale internet requirements, cellular networks like 5G are here to connect everyone and everything virtually on a larger scale.
The technology is based on the Orthogonal frequency-division Multiplexing (OFDM) that reduces interference by modulating a digital signal across several channels. Ability to operate in both lower bands (like sub-6 GHz) and mmWave (24 GHz and above), 5G promises increased network capacity, low latency and multi-Gbps throughput. 5G also uses the new 5G NR air interface to optimize OFDM to deliver not just better user experience but also a wider one extending to many industries, and mission-critical service areas.
The 5G technology, in a nutshell, has brought with it ultra-high speeds, increased and scalable network capacity, and very low latency.
How are Wi-Fi 6 and 5G Transforming the IoT?
5G and Wi-Fi 6 will fill up the speed gaps that our existing networks are not able to especially, in crowded homes or congested urban areas. It's not just about the speed. The two wireless technologies will increase network capacity and improve signal strengths.
On the business front, 5G and Wi-Fi 6 are both living up to the hype they created since their introduction.
Wi-Fi 6 has emerged, as the enabler of converged IoT at the edge. It has put IT into OT applications, connected devices and processed data from devices such as IP security cameras, LED lighting, and digital signage with touch screen or voice command. Wi-Fi 6 can now be used in office buildings for intelligent building management systems, occupancy sensors, access control (smart locks), smart parking, and fire detection and evacuation.
It’s (Wi-Fi 6) built for IoT. It will connect many, many more people to mobile devices, household appliances, or public utilities, such as the power grid and traffic lights. The transfer rates with Wi-Fi 6 are expected to improve anywhere from four times to 10 times current speeds, with a lower power draw, i.e. while using less electricity.
- Tom Soderstrom, IT Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Similarly, 5G will open doors for more devices and data. It will increase the adoption of edge computing for faster data processing close to the point of action. The hype around 5G is because of the three key attributes it comes with: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency (uRLLC), and massive IoT device connectivity (mMTC). But there is the fourth attribute that sets it apart from its predecessor: use of a spectrum that operates at the low-end frequency range (typically 600 MHz). Called as ‘low-band 5G’, it delivers high speeds with signals that go for miles without propagation losses and ability to penetrate obstacles. The 5G operates in the new millimetre-wave bands (24 to 86 GHz) delivering more capacity to enable many low-power IoT connections.
If we were to point down the benefits, these two wireless technologies are bringing to the Internet of Things those would be:
Increased Human-Device Interactions
Increased Data and Devices
More IoT investments
Advancing to the Edge
Acceleration towards Industrial IoT
Enhanced use of IoT devices
Better VUI
5G and Wi-Fi 6: Rivals or Allies?
In February, Cisco estimated that by 2023 M2M communications will contribute to 50% or about 14.7 billion of all networked connections. Cisco’s Annual Internet Report reveals that 5G will enable new IoT applications with greater bandwidth and lower latencies and will accelerate innovations at scale. The same report estimates that 10.6% of global mobile connections in 2023 will be 5G, while Wi-Fi 6 hotspots will be 11.6% of all public Wi-Fi hotspots growing 13 times from 2020 through 2023.
Wi-Fi6 will serve as a necessary complement to 5G. A significant portion of cellular traffic is offloaded to Wi-Fi networks to prevent congestion and degraded performance of cellular networks (due to demand).
- Thomas Barnett, Director of Thought Leadership, Cisco Systems
The two technologies are here to feed different data-hungry areas with gigabit speeds.
With lower deployment costs, Wi-Fi 6 will be dominating the home and business environments where access points need to serve more users covering devices like smartphones, tablets, PCs, printers, TV sets, and streaming devices. With an unlicensed spectrum, the performance of Wi-Fi 6 depends on the number of users, that are using the network at the same time.
5G, with its longer range, will deliver mobile connections and accelerate smart city deployments and manufacturing operations. Like LTE, 5G speeds will depend upon users’ proximity to base stations and the number of people using that network.
The performance of the two depends largely on the area where they are being deployed. For instance, Wi-Fi can very well handle machine-to-machine communications in a managed manufacturing unit, whereas 5G can enhance campus-wide manufacturing operations efficiently. Businesses will have a decision to make which among the two wireless networks fulfils their data appetite.
In conclusion, the two wireless technologies continue to develop in parallel and causing the next big wave in the Internet of Things.
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Industrial 4.0
Article | December 16, 2021
Manufacturers were already digitizing their processes before March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic gave IT and operational professionals in the manufacturing space reasons to want to move faster. Teams that can’t work on the factory floor (pandemic, weather, closed roads, etc.) need a way to monitor and control processes over the network. Supply chain woes—like wildly fluctuating demand and the container ship that blocked the Suez Canal—highlighted the need for agility. A skilled labor shortage has further accelerated plans for automation.
Digitization brings visibility and agility
The fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, lays the foundation of modern digital manufacturing. It brings together cyber and physical systems, automation, industrial IoT, and better vertical and horizontal integration.
The network has a starring role in digital manufacturing, connecting people and applications in any location to factory-floor assets like sensors, actuators, cameras, and industrial automation and control systems (IACS). Benefits of digitization include improved overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) uptime, product quality, worker safety, cybersecurity, 24/7 asset monitoring and faster new product introduction and accelerating plant buildouts.
Four essentials for manufacturing networks
As IT and operational professionals work to innovate traditional manufacturing facilities and operations, we must consider that digital manufacturing requires more networks. Here are guidelines for making sure your manufacturing network is up to the task.
Use network devices specifically designed for industrial environments like factories
In addition to high performance and reliability, industrial routers, switches, and firewalls need to withstand harsh environmental conditions like extreme temperatures, shock, vibration, and humidity. They also need to be able to control access, have support for real-time industrial protocols, and enable the flow of key operational data to move across applications in the cloud. Further, the operational networks they build need to be scalable and highly resilient. We designed our industrial routers and switches to meet these requirements.
Give IT and OT visibility and control into what they care about
The manufacturing network is a joint project of the IT and OT teams. If you’re on the IT team, you want a solution that works with your existing network management and security applications, and doesn’t require significant training or disruption. You want to automate network maintenance and quickly identify and solve performance issues, especially in this business-critical space. If you’re on the OT team, you’re probably not an IT expert. You want visibility of issues that impact availability, product quality, workforce effectiveness and straightforward recommendations to resolve them. Cisco DNA Center – proven in the largest IT networks – meets all these needs. It automates time-consuming manual tasks, continuously monitors network health, and provides reports and controls on an easy-to-use dashboard. Cisco Cyber Vision gives you visibility into assets and processes.
For agile manufacturing, look for “plug-and-play” deployment
Manufacturers are simultaneously expanding production, hyper-customizing products, improving operations, and launching new products and services. To achieve these goals, you need the agility to scale product capacity, change product mix, and reallocate resources as needed. Quickly shift networking and production resources where you need them using Cisco DNA Center’s plug-and-play onboarding and provisioning.
Pay careful attention to cybersecurity
Cybersecurity starts with knowing everything that is connected to your industrial network, who’s talking to each other and what they are saying. Cisco Cyber Vision automatically takes a complete inventory. OT teams use a graphical interface to create production zones (aka network segments) containing all assets that need to communicate. (The painting controller doesn’t need to talk to the assembly-line controller.) Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) deploys polices that block unintended communications between segments to keep malware infections from spreading. Cisco Cyber Vision also takes a baseline of each asset’s usual communications patterns, alerting OT and IT teams to unusual behavior that could be a sign of a security breach.
Prepare to do more with less
The manufacturing skills shortage has widened the skills gap, with fewer experts left on the plant floor to prevent mistakes and solve crises. Connecting your plant floor helps you do more with less. A resilient network with the four qualities I’ve described—rugged devices, IT and OT collaboration, simpler and agile network management, and cybersecurity—helps you proactively identify potential problems, discover the cause, and resolve them before they affect production or quality.
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