Category

Internet of Things (IoT)

May 27
The Knight At The Tower (Salvador Dali, 1932)

Are ERP Companies Missing The Big IoT Opportunity?

By Internet of Things (IoT) 9 Comments

With PTC’s LiveWorx, arguably the largest industrial Internet of Things event around, behind us, it is worthwhile to observe how enterprise software companies are seizing the opportunity to unleash the potential of the IoT.  But rather than looking at industrial IoT companies such as PTC, GE or Siemens, let’s look at ERP companies, for example, SAP.

In an article titled How IoT Data From Every ‘Thing’ Can Grow Your Business, published by SAP, the author states “Smart products, assets and always-on things have provided us with access to unparalleled amounts of information.”

This is, of course, the mainstream view and the promise of the Internet of Things, where always-connected smart devices emit torrents of rich data that enables new and highly optimized business processes and customer engagement models.

But this thinking, as broad as it may appear, overlooks some key components of enterprise IoT. Read More

May 14
Help! Movie Poster (The Beatles, 1965)

IoT and Software Support

By Internet of Things (IoT), IT Strategy 4 Comments

You think IoT has Nothing to do with Software Support? Think Again!

You cannot escape the onslaught of breathless headlines about the rapid proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT). You hear and read ad nauseam about a brave new connected world that is threatening to change all businesses as we know them.

These stories are usually accompanied by images of complex industrial equipment, giant oil rigs, and highly sophisticated jet engines.

If you are in software support you may dismiss these as not quite relevant to your business and daily activity. Some of you may even sigh in relief that you do not need to get to the bottom of the 4th Industrial Revolution and that your job is not threatened by these new technologies.

But if you do, you’d be wrong! Read More

Apr 27
The Accountant (Florent Willems)

The CPA and the Internet of Things

By Internet of Things (IoT), IT Strategy One Comment

No, this is not a modern-day technology Aesop fable.

But it is yet another observation in the neck-breaking evolution of the Internet of Things narrative in which eye candies tend to divert attention away from critical business functions such as customer billing.

The Internet of Things is transforming every business. Early discussions about IoT were all about connecting industrial assets, but as the technology is maturing to become the fuel of the connected enterprise, its impact is going to be profound, touching every part of the business and every function in its value chain.

Even accountants recognize the potentially disruptive impact IoT is going to have on their profession. An article titled The Internet of Things: The CPA’s Role in the New World of Business, published by the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, suggests that “the duties of CPAs will continue to transform and integrate with IT systems, possibly leading to consolidation”. Read More

Apr 24
Delicate Tension (Wassily Kandisnky, 1923)

The Emergence of Application-Specific IoT

By Internet of Things (IoT) No Comments

In a recent announcement, covered here under the title PTC’s ThingWorx and Deloitte Release Plans for Industry-Specific IoT Solutions, the two companies have announced a plan to collaborate on industry-focused IoT initiatives.

Back in September 2014, which, in IoT-years, seems like a decade ago, I published a blog article under a very similar title, anticipating The Emergence of Application-Specific IoT.

Below is an abbreviated and edited excerpt from of my 2014 article, followed by additional commentary. You will be the judge of how much, or, perhaps, how little has changed in nearly 3 years of intense activity in the IoT space. Read More

Apr 22
Tableau No. IV; Lozenge Composition with Red, Gray, Blue, Yellow, and Black (Piet Mondrian, 1924-1925)

Living on the Edge

By Internet of Things (IoT) No Comments

Internet of Things architects love to talk about edge devices. IoT edge devices are the intelligent sensors and data acquisition devices that collect, filter and aggregate data close to industrial processes and production machines. With increased memory space and computing power, edge devices are capable of monitoring equipment, running data analytics, and moving decision-making authority from the traditional monolithic back-office applications along the edges of a distributed network of manufacturing assets and closer to the point of need, thereby improving responsiveness, process quality, and production yields.

However, real-time process control is not the only consideration in architecting an industrial IoT (IIOT) network. The power of the Internet of Things is in its ability to form a flexible decision-making architecture and to move analytics and decision making between edge devices (for example, for real-time control), and centralized cloud applications such as fleet optimization, as needed. Read More