Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 05 | Page 45

INTELLIGENT MOBILE TECHNOLOGY 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS • Businesses are starting to see and feel the benefits IoT can bring including cost savings, efficiencies, customer experiences • Big data is not a new concept but the amount of data is growing exponentially as a result of the sheer number of people, places and things that now inhabit the digital workplace • Embrace smart innovations that aggregate and analyse your collected data, in combination with third party feeds, to uncover new ways to get the most from your employees, customers, processes and supply chain • It makes sense to move some of the computing power required to process this serious amount of data to a network location Big data is not a new concept but the amount of data is growing exponentially as a result of the sheer number of people, places and things that now inhabit the digital workplace. As a result, it makes sense to move some of the computing power required to process this serious amount of data to a network location or Intelligent Edge. Here, technologies connect and automate anything from, IoT enabled lighting to heating and from manufacturing processes to industrial systems. Applications like our friend Robin, not only require a host of systems to connect and transmit data from mobile and IoT devices, they also perform various analytical processes to create the workplace, operational, brand and IT experiences I have just described. What is more, outside of four workplace walls, countless opportunities exist to incorporate this data – think connected cars, smart parking meters and traffic control where external connectivity solutions, like Long Term Evolution or low-powered wireless signals, are incorporated. The Intelligent Edge consists of three layers. Layer one is the foundation. This is the infrastructure containing familiar technologies like local area network, wireless local area network, wide area network, and contemporary innovations like Bluetooth, Low Energy sensors and converged edge systems. In layer two, local area platform technologies like mobility or mobile-first platforms, manage the devices within your enterprise, while wide area platforms use universal IoT and focus on connecting the billions of devices spread across a region. Finally, a robust partnership ecosystem, necessary for developing the applications and services that deliver experiences enterprises need to make their digital workplaces run, forms layer three. A typical ecosystem contains next-generation innovators and enterprise players. Safeguard your enterprise Adopt technologies that protect data in motion and at rest. Include innovative solutions that use machine learning and artificial intelligence for detection, as well as for quarantining and disconnecting devices exhibiting suspicious activity. 4 Unlock knowledge Deploy solutions that collect information about your employees, customers and the world at-large. These technologies help turn behavior into insights you can monetise. 5 Drive profitability Embrace smart innovations that aggregate and analyse your collected data, in combination with other third party feeds, to uncover new ways to get the most from your employees, customers, processes and supply chain. Regardless of your industry or enterprise, adopting a modern Intelligent Edge architecture could be critical to harnessing the potential of IoT at scale for your business. IoT will transform business as we know it today by offering benefits like cost savings, improved security and better customer experience. Key to success It is time to realise the potential of large- scale IoT. Here are five tips for introducing connected devices into your organisation: 1 Take stock of your environment It is impossible to develop a successful strategy without understanding where you are today. Profile your endpoints, the solutions serving them and the underlying infrastructure and architectures. 2 Ensure you are extracting all data This requires modern wired and wireless technologies from the datacentre to the edge, as well as solutions for connecting any remote users and systems beyond. Morten Illum is Vice President of EMEA at HPE Aruba 45